Destinies
by Lady Fenix
Summary: AU senshi shitennou story. The battle between Light and Darkness is once again approaching but are the champions of Light ready? Ch 12 up! A woman in a quest for justice and finding more than she bargained for.
1. Default Chapter

Disclaimer: Sailor Moon and all the characters in them belongs to are creations made by Naoko Takeuchi that I have borrowed for this fiction. I do not own anything so please do not sue me. This fanfiction is only written for my own and others who love the serie and the characters and is not intended to be used for commercial gain or profit.   


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Character index

**Earth **__

Arief: Master of Earth and teacher to the prince and his four guards.

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Brighton: Lord Chancellor of Earth. 

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Celeste: Duchess of Randion. Formerly princess of Earth. Jadeite's grandam. 

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Cleo: Lady of Winsburn and Kunzite's fiancée. 

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Erland: Grand Duke of Cresthaven. Brother to James.

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Elrond: Marquis of Windsburn. Jadeit'es father.

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Endymion Darien "Dare": Prince of Earth and heir to the throne. 

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Feney "Demon": Captain and instructor to the group of new recruits including Usagi.

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Hotaru: Daughter of Master Tomoe. Best friend of princess Terra.

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Jadeite "Jade": Earl of Riversun. Personal body guard of the prince of Earth. 

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James "Jamie": Grand duke of Randion. Jadeite's grandsire. 

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Kunzite: Marquis of Sun Haven. Personal bodyguard of the prince of Earth and ambassador of Earth. 

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Nephrite "Neph": Honorary Squire. Personal guard of the prince of Earth. 

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Terra: Princess of Earth. Younger sister or Endymion.

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Tomoe: Master of Earth. Father of Hotaru.

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Zoicite "Zoi": Honorary Squire. Personal guard of the prince of Earth.

__ **Jupiter **__

Freddy: Soldier of Jupiter. Mako's first love.

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Gregor: King of Jupiter. Father of Mako. 

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Joran: High Lord and First advisor of the king of Jupiter. 

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Kayoko: Royal Knight – chief of security. 

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Magda: Queen of Jupiter. Mother of Mako. 

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Makato "Mako" Princess of Jupiter and heir to the throne. Alter ego Sailor Jupiter

**Mars **__

Careina "Rei": Princess of Mars. Alter ego Sailor Mars. Acolyte priestess of Fierey. 

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Demos: Rei's Guardian Animal.

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Fujiro: Acolyte priest of Fierey serving under the nine Elder Companions. 

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Hiro: Priestess of Fierey. One of the nine Elder Companions. 

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Marcus: High Elder, spiritual leader of the Order of Fierey. 

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Phobos: Rei's Guardian Animal. 

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Pythia: Queen of mars. Mother of Rei. Elder priestess of the Order Fierey. 

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Sarith: Priest of Fierey. One of the nine Elder Companions. 

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Shawna: Priestess of Fierey. One of the nine Elder Companions. 

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Templar: Priest of Fierey. Rei's temporary appointed Guardian Elder

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Tetsuo: Elder priest of Fierey. One of the nine Elder Companions Rei's grandfather. 

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Yuichirou: Acolyte priest of Fierey serving under the nine Elder Companions. 

**Mercury **__

Amelia "Ami": Princess of Mercury and heir to the throne. Alter ego Sailor Mercury. 

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Lysanna: Queen of Mercury. Mother of Amy. Chief Physician. 

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Mardus: Chief Physician of Aquarian Healer. 

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Roland: King of Mercury. Father of Ami. 

Moon __

Artemis: Queen's advisor. Moon Guardian. 

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Chevaine "Cheve": A minor lord of Mercia, one of the Twelve Houses. 

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Galain: Mina's coachman. 

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Galina "Lina": A minor lady of Tennor, one of the Twelve Houses. 

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Helios: Queen's advisor. The Royal Physician. 

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Luna: Queen's advisor. Moon Guardian. 

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Selenity "Selene": Queen of Moon. Mother of Usagi. 

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Serenity "Usagi": Princess of Moon and heir to the throne. Alter ego Sailor Moon 

Venus __

Aisha: Mina's personal maid. 

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Aphrodite: Queen of Venus. Mother of Mina and Elyse. 

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Elyse: Princess of Venus. Younger sister of Mina. 

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Minako "Mina": Princess of Venus. Alter ego Sailor Venus. 

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Trevor: King of Venus. Father of Mina and Elyse. 

Others __

Archer: Leader of a mercenary group 

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Bear: Archer's left hand. The brute force. 

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Rogan: Archer's right hand. The cunning force.


	2. Prologue

The beginning  
  
  
  
  
  
Space was a beautiful place. Peaceful and quiet, surrounded by millions of stars shattered across the distance like a great tapestry. Each light was a shining bright promising hope. Space was the home for over billions and billions of life forms.  
  
Suddenly the peace was broken by the sudden burst of darkness at the very edge of space, a darkness that was darker than the deepest pitch of night. The darkness started to spread slowly, swallowing the light around it as it spread. One by one the stars closest to the darkness vanished, leaving an area of darkness that became greater and greater.  
  
In a place in between worlds and in between time in a far, far away galaxy two women watched the whole incident with ancient eyes. One was as fair as the palest shade of light. At first look the woman looked young but at a closer look her age was in truth indefinable. She had the youthful agelessness to her face but her pale eyes shone with an ancient wisdom that spoke of an existence that could be as old as time itself.  
  
Standing next to the dark green haired woman was but a pale shadow in her presence. Long green hair flowing down to her hips, the woman had the face of a girl in her early twenties. But her dark green eyes revealed an age far above that, though compared to her companion they were still that of a youth's.  
  
''It has begun.'' The younger woman spoke up, shattering the silence that had kept them company.  
  
''Yes.'' The older woman agreed watching the scene in front of her with her pale eyes. Eyes that shifted between green, blue, green and hazel dark. Her face was beautifully smooth like marble, and it betrayed as much in terms of emotions.  
  
Her companion held her composure too but inside her sadness as well as fear was clawing like Death's hand. Unconsciously the hand that she was using to hold a tall black rod with a half moon crescent, clenched, the knuckles whitening. Turning her head slightly, she watched the bright star that shone in midpoint and the group of planets that circled around it in orbits. It was only one solar system but contained billions of life in just that tiny system. At the moment those lives were leading their peaceful lives unaware of the danger that was coming their way. Unaware of the chaos and death that it was promising.  
  
''It is still too early. They aren't ready.''  
  
The fair-haired woman shook her head lightly, making her long flowing hair dance in waves. ''Do not be in such a hurry. Everything takes its time. It has only begun. We still have time to prepare them for the final battle. They will each fulfill their destiny as you will, my daughter.''  
  
The green haired woman might have lived for several centuries but compared to her companion she was in truth nothing but an infant and as such she was young enough to let her emotions rule her. Instead of watching the destruction that she had been brought here to watch, she turned to face the ancient woman and before she knew it words were tumbling out of her mouth. ''I'm afraid, Oracle.''  
  
Without looking away, the oracle's gentle smile still reached the young woman. ''Do not be, daughter. Though I may not take an active part in this war, know in your heart that a part of me shall always watch over you.''  
  
''And what if you're wrong? They've failed in the past. You've seen the results of their failure just as I have. How can you be so sure they won't make the same mistakes again?'' She tried not to think of the place or the time of which had captured her heart. A place and time far away from the place and time of when she had been born. Despite herself flashes came quick and fast, pictures of death and destruction, of darkness and blood, of sorrow and loss, of pain and tears.  
  
Sensing her distress, the oracle reached out with her senses and soothed her. Despite all her vast powers however she was only able to ease some of the pain, not to erase them completely. ''Yes, daughter. I know how the future will look like if these children fail the battle. That is why we are here today. The reason we lost the battle the last time was not just the fault of these children. The other side broke the rules as well. Because they have, I am now able to do something that I was not able to do before, which is interfere.''  
  
Young as she may be, she was still sensitive enough to sense the pain the oracle tried to hide. She wanted to reach out and put her arms around the fair-haired woman but she knew that should she do that her arms would just pass through as the other woman was nothing more than substance. So she did the only thing she could do and that was to pull herself together. Smiling she said, ''Forgive me, Oracle. Seeing all this again just brought back bad memories. I am okay now and ready to assume my responsibilities.''  
  
The oracle sighed, understanding the child far better than the girl did herself. ''That's quite all right, daughter. You are entitled to them. Unlike your brethren there is and has always been only one Guardian of Time and as such, you are lonelier than most. I fear that when I created that position I had made an error there. I wish there was someway I could change that just like we are changing time now. But unfortunately because your position is connected to time that is the one and only thing I can't change once I've made it. It seems even one such as me have limits.'' The last was said in a rueful tone but the quick humor was quickly dashed away again as the woman finally looked away from space to watch her charge. ''Are you ready then, daughter?'' She asked gravely.  
  
The Guardian of Time nodded her head in answer. ''I am, Oracle.''  
  
''Then I will send you to the galaxy of the Milky way. For your own protection as well as part of the rule, you will not be able to keep all of your memories.''  
  
''Then how will I know what needs to be done?'' The Guardian of Time asked with a slight frown marring her ethereal beauty.  
  
''I will give you three advice that you will be able to remember. First look for the signs that I have planted in the planets. Second is to find my hosts. Unfortunately there aren't as many as either of us would have wanted. Ordinary life forms are not meant to contain that much power and the after effects of using them takes a large toll on them. The third and most important advice, daughter, is to trust in your instincts. They will guide you to the right path.''  
  
''Will I be able to remember anything?'' The younger woman asked with some frustration.  
  
The oracle shook her head, she wore a smile of an indulgent mother watching her daughter being stubborn. ''Not very much at the beginning. Some things need to fall in place first and I'm afraid that if you had your memories, you will choose to act upon them instead of waiting.''  
  
Knowing that it was the truth the young woman nodded her head in reluctant agreement.  
  
Satisfied, the oracle made a small gesture with her hand and the scene that had once enfolded them vanished to be replaced by a grayish nothingness. With a thought, the oracle called upon a portal that opened up to the young woman's right side. The portal was pulsing with all the colors of the rainbow but whatever lay on the other side was not available to sight.  
  
''Before you go, there is one last thing that I have to tell you. Though I'm sending you in this time, instead of letting you watch, you have to remember who you are, Pluto. Your role is still more of a watcher's than a soldier's. Break that rule and there are prices that you will have to pay. Time is not something to play around with.'' The last sentence was said with a heavy warning and the oracle made sure that she kept Pluto's eyes caught in hers to emphasize it.  
  
After Pluto had nodded her head gravely indicating that she had understood the warning, the oracle sent her off. Standing once again alone in the realm of her creation, the oracle's eyes turned distant as she let her mind wander of to the part of the universe where the evil darkness was appearing.  
  
The being sensed her presence and immediately she was assaulted by a psychic attack. The oracle deflected the attack with ease. Even through the distance, she could sense the hatred that the being had for her. Since her feelings were not that much warmer for the being either, the oracle made the contact brief. She sent her message, issuing the proper code of acceptance for the battle and severed the ties quickly after that.  
  
After that was done, the oracle set her mind to another task. As her charge was no longer present there was no need for her to keep the appearance of a human woman either. In truth she had no form. She was ALL and NOTHING. Carrying the appearance of a human woman had been for the benefit of Pluto. The oracle always made sure that that whoever she spoke to when being herself, she always put on the appearance of that race.  
  
Letting go of the form, the oracle started to get down to work. Seeds have been planted and the challenge has been accepted. Now it was time to set things in motion.  
  
The oracle reached out with her awareness. Across the galaxies a message went through like a fire spreading on dry grassland. A call was sent out and all those who were meant to hear the message heard it, though not many were in fact aware that they had received a message.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
In a deserted throne room, a young man was sitting on a diamond throne staring at the chess play in front of him with a thoughtful frown. He was abruptly pulled out of his deep thought as a sudden awareness filled him. Jumping up from his throne, toppling the exquisite precious chess to the floor, the man looked around the empty throne room. Energy was formed in his hand, ready to be cast. When nothing happened for a long time, he let the energy vanish, feeling slightly foolish at the same time. He could have sworn that just a moment ago he had felt his senses tell him to ready for battle. They have never been wrong before.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
In a sleeping chamber several stories above the throne room, a beautiful young woman with long rich curls of green hair was sitting in front of a giant mirror. She was wearing a flimsy thin silk night gown that showed off her luscious curves and humming through her lips while she brushed her hair with gentle stroke.  
  
In an action that had never happened before while doing this ritual, the woman stopped her brushing in midair as she felt the hair on the back of her neck rise. The tune stopped, dead in her mouth and she whirled around scanning the room. Unable to see anything the woman shook her head and muttered a curse under her breath. It was all his fault. She's been spending too much time with his royal highness below lately. She's starting to get as paranoid as he was.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
In another part of the castle, a young man was sitting in a deep leather chair, enjoying the quiet peacefulness of the evening with a book. He sensed the change and looked up from his reading, like a wolf catching the scent of prey. Setting aside his book he rose and walked over to the window. Unable to see anything he walked back to the door and stuck out his head. The hallway outside was just as empty as when he had left it an hour before. He shook his head and shrugged off the whole incident as an act of an overactive imagination. Sitting back on his chair and he resumed his reading, having already forgotten about the whole thing.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Outside of the building another young man going on is daily life doing what he always did every evening. He was practicing his fighting and honing his warrior skills. Unlike his companions he was a simple man who enjoyed the practical use of his hands more than magic as a weapon. Unlike magic, hands were solid and he trusted them more.  
  
Nearing the end of the practice, he was just about to neutralize his opponent when a sudden awareness filled him. Already on the alert, his warrior instincts kicked in and he used more force than was necessary attack his opponent. Whirling around, he tried to catch whatever danger it was that had alerted him but at this time of the night, the training yard was empty of people aside from he and his training companion, who at the moment was lying out cold on the ground.  
  
Swearing the young man knelt down to check on her. He knew that his prince was going to have a word with him about this when he found out. He had been reprimanded several times about using one of the four sisters as a training partner. His prince had a strange objections against fighting women.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Across the many worlds and planets, closer to the sun, two young men were walking down the hallway of their home in deep conversation. A sensation came over both and they stopped, hands going automatically to the sword resting at their side as they immediately became alert.  
  
With a wordless gesture, the dark-haired one signaled to his companion to move to the left while he took up the right side. Slowly they searched the area trying to catch signs of whatever danger it was that their senses had warned them. Finding his side of the hallway empty, he turned to his companion. The silver-haired man shook his head indicating that his side was clear too.  
  
Left with nothing else to do, they resumed their walk. But the silver haired man made a mental note of doubling the guards anyway. He rarely ignored his instincts and especially when sensing a danger around the very man that he had given oath to protect, he was not going to take any chances.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
In the giant observatory at the very top of the castle, a tall brown-haired man studied the stars above him with a slight frown of concentration on his handsome face.  
  
It was a rare thing having such a clear sky at this time of the year. He was not sure if he was imagining it but the sky seemed to be extremely bright tonight. The constellations have never before appeared as clear to him as now and revealed less. Normally he could read the signs of the stars like a book but tonight the sky was as closely shut as the clamp of an oyster.  
  
The awareness snuck up on him and he turned absolutely still. As if receiving a que, the sky suddenly opened up above him. Revealing all its knowledge. The man's dark eyes widened and he staggered back at the onslaught of information that overwhelmed him. By the time he recovered the sensation was gone and the sky was once again obscured and hidden.  
  
The man panted as if he had run for several miles at a dead run. He tried to gather enough of his wits to remember what he had seen for that brief moment but like trying grab hold of water, the information slipped out of his mind.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Not far from castle, a pair of young men were enjoying themselves to their hearts content each with an arm around a pretty lady. Music and laughter filled the establishment where they were currently staying in. Though both were blonde one was short haired and blue-eyed and the other was long- haired and green-eyed.  
  
The blue eyed man was whispering something to his lovely redheaded companion when the strange sensation filled him. He looked over the shoulder of the girl to his friend, noticing that the other man had tensed in the middle of kissing his lady friend. Their eyes met and a silent message passed between them, indicating that they both had felt it.  
  
They waited a heartbeat but when nothing happened, the green eyed man was distracted by his lady friend and he went back to giving her his full attention. Since his friend did not seem to be worried, the blue eyed man shrugged off the incident. They probably just had too much to drink and went back to enjoying himself.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Several planets from the pair of carousing young men, another room was filled with the sound of music. Unlike the festive loud ones, this was the sweet clinging sounds of violin and piano blended in a lovely harmony.  
  
A woman with pale green hair the color of sea, played her violin with a grace and ease of a person born to the music. Sitting by a grand piano, the blonde haired woman let her fingers roam over the keys of the piano with a quick ease and cleverness that matched superbly with the notes coming from the violin.  
  
The angelic music was however abruptly cut short when both of them felt the awareness that swept over them. They shared a silent look and pulling out a pencil from their pockets they held it ready and prepared to utter the words that would transform them. Then they waited. Nothing happened and the awareness left, but it took a long time before either felt comfortable enough to put back the pen in her pocket.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Some distant away in the nursery of the royal palace, a beautiful baby girl was sleeping peacefully. One chubby formed thumb was stuck in her mouth and unconsciously she sucked at it as she dreamt.  
  
An old woman was sitting in a chair not far from the girl, dosing lightly. Her rest was abruptly cut short when the little girl suddenly started to scream and cry. The woman jumped up from her chair with a start and hurried to her charge's side. Lifting up the baby girl, she soothed the girl from whatever nightmare it was that had awaken her. Absently she noted that this was the first time the baby had ever woken up like this. She was a very good girl and normally she slept through the whole night. It must have been a really bad dream to have scared her up like this.  
  
It took the nurse nearly an hour before the baby finally fell back to sleep and even then she was still hiccuping from the aftermath of her cries.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
From the middle of a wide plane a lone woman walked, carrying a long staff with a half crescent moon at the top. Aside from the animal lives, there was no signs of living close by. Her eyes however were fixed in the small distant light in the horizon that promised the existence of a large city. That was her destination. The place where she knew she would start her mission.  
  
Suddenly she was washed by a mystic sensation who's presence was not unfamiliar to her. Pluto looked up to the sky, though she knew that she would not be able to see anything. The stars were shining with an extreme brightness as if sensing the approaching darkness that is threatening to come and swallow them. She could almost feel their fears.  
  
It seems the Oracle had just sent out her signal alerting her warriors to prepare for battle. Pluto wondered how many besides her would be feel the signal. Already her memories were starting to fade. The knowledge that she had held before was nothing but a pale shadow now and for every step she took more faded. Who would join her in the upcoming battle, she did not know. Finding that out was one of her missions.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
In another castle far, from the plane where Pluto was walking, four girls were lying in their separate rooms sleeping peacefully. The last two weeks had been tough on them and now that their hardship was over they were catching up on some much needed rest.  
  
Each girl was different from the other as the seasons of the year. One blonde, one dark-haired, one raven-haired and one blue-haired. They slept peacefully, dreaming their separate dreams of boys, food, family and vacation.  
  
Too tired to notice anything neither woke up as the power touched them. Still sleeping some frowned and shifted restlessly while others pulled the covers more tightly around her, as a sudden cold seemed to touch her. Safe in their bed and inside the grand palace of their home, none was aware of the upcoming danger that was approaching.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
In a darkened circular room two stories below the sleeping girls, another girl with long flowing pale blonde hair pulled back to the side like two meatballs, closed the double door carefully behind her. Turning she watched the crystal that was standing at the center of the room and slowly she started to approach it.  
  
Her heart was hammering against her chest, threatening to jump up to her throat.. Her hand was sweaty and she kept glancing over her shoulder at the closed door, fearing it to open any moment bringing her mother and teachers to stop her.  
  
She stopped in front of the crystal. The light coming out of the large crystal illuminated her face, revealing a beautiful face with large blue eyes, small stubborn nose and full rosy lips. The girl reached out a hand to touch the crystal, part of the actions that was needed to activate it but she halted in midair when a strange sensation seemed to fill her. A cold clamminess seemed to claw at her and along with it came a sense of warning and dread. Her breath caught in her throat and the girl quickly whirled around to face the door, fearing that she had been caught. But the door was still closed and she was still alone in the room. The girl's feet were rooted to the floor, though she would not have been able to hide in the room even if she had wanted to. She held her breath and tensed.  
  
Minutes ticked by and nothing happened.  
  
The sensation vanished and slowly she let her breath out again. Time was running out, she did not know what it was that she had just felt but she knew that if she did not hurry and get on with what she came here for she will be caught soon and then she can really say goodbye to her freedom. Taking a deep breath as if steeling herself mentally, the girl stole one furtive look behind her shoulder before she reached out with her hands and touched on the cool smooth surface of the crystal. She concentrated on the pattern in her head and uttered the magical word. Immediately she was surrounded by a blinding light. Her surrounding blazed and vanished from sight and when the light faded out again, the room was empty once more with only the crystal resting on its pedestal at the center. 


	3. Chapter 1: Disappearance

1. Disappearance  
  
  
  
  
  
It was past midnight and the palace was silent, as all the dwellers had already turned in for the night. In the eastern wing of the palace however, a young girl woke up from her sleep with a start. Her violet eyes looked around the room that was dimly lit with starlight shining through the great windows filling an entire wall of the room. Her heart was thudding against her chest as she tried to catch sight of what it was that woke her up.  
  
The room was large and grandly decorated with the most luxurious furniture and decorative money could buy. A great hearth was built against the wall facing her. Normally it would be lit by a fire but because of the humid weather the girl had left it cold. The sliding door leading to the balcony was open and the pale white silk curtains fluttered ghostly with the night breeze to her right. She could see the sleeping shadows of her two guardians perched against the branch of the large tree that grew just outside her room.  
  
She was alone.  
  
The girl frowned slightly, marring the beautiful flawless alabaster skin. Trained soldier that she was, she was not foolish enough to ignore the warnings that her senses detected and go back to sleep. Since her eyes couldn't find anything she would just have to rely on her other senses.  
  
She sat up on the bed, cross-legged, palms together and fingers woven in an intricate pattern. Closing her eyes, she started to concentrate by focusing her mind. It was a difficult procedure for her and required a lot of effort but after a while she managed to achieve the balanced mental concentration required for her work. Her senses sharpened and she became aware of her surroundings in a wholly different way. She let her awareness expand to the world outside her room, searching for abnormality or danger.  
  
The girl felt the presence of her friends sleeping peacefully in the rooms next to hers. The moment she reached the room to the end of the hall, however, her eyes snapped open with alarm and she drew a sharp breath of shock. Without a second thought, she quickly scrambled off from the bed. The moment her feet touched the cool tiles of marble floor she was running towards the door. She did not even realize the urgency within her until she heard the door slam hard against the wall behind her. Sounds and voices of surprise started to fill the silent hallway but she did not pay them any heed.  
  
Reaching the end of the hallway, the girl took hold of the doorknob and threw it open. Just as she had expected the room was empty. The bed was made and does not look like it had been slept in at all. Just to be sure though, the girl walked further in to the room and touched the bed. She could feel the aura of the owner but it was faint, the kind of sensation that it gave off when the object had not been touched for a while.  
  
''Rei. What's going on?'' A musical voice asked. A young girl the same age as Rei, but with long blonde hair instead of black, streaming loosely down her back like spun gold, entered the room. In the silvery light dressed in a white nightgown, she looked like a princess from a fairy tale story. There was however nothing soft about her face that would show that she needed to be rescued by a prince, especially when her eyes lit on the empty bed. The fierceness in them told more of her readiness to pick up a fight herself.  
  
''She's gone.'' It was a statement not an question, but the next was however. ''How long?''  
  
Before Rei could open her mouth to answer her two more figures darted in to the room. One was a tall dark-haired girl with green eyes and the other a slight ebony haired girl with blue eyes.  
  
''All right, where are they. I'll teach them a lesson that'll make them weep to next year.'' The brown-haired demanded, her knuckles cracking dangerously. If the blonde girl had looked ready to fight, this girl looked ready to commit murder.  
  
At the same time the ebony haired girl asked ''How long has she been gone?'' Her voice was much more softer almost dreamy compared to the others but there was a clear intelligence shining in her blue eyes that spoke of a sharp mind.  
  
The dark haired girl, hissed. ''If they've taken her. They won't get far.'' She said ominously.  
  
''Lita, calm down and let Rei speak.'' The blonde girl ordered with an authoritative voice.  
  
Had it been any other time, Rei would have burst out laughing at the comical face Lita was making. It was not often that Mina put on her leadership mantle when addressing them so it often took them by surprise when she did. But this was not the time or place for jokes. ''The bed feels cold.'' They all knew she was not just talking about the temperature. ''She should have not been gone long though otherwise I wouldn't have been awaken.''  
  
''Amy, you were the last one of us to see her. When did she leave your room? '' Mina asked.  
  
Slight spots of colors bloomed in Amy's pale face. ''I don't exactly know. I…I fell asleep. She was still there when I fell asleep.'' She whispered the last words.  
  
The other three girl could hear the guilt in her voice. Lita standing closest to her gave her a pat on the shoulder. ''Don't blame yourself Ames. It was not your fault. We were all tired from all the studying.'' Lita comforted her.  
  
In truth, Amy should be the one most tired of them all. Aside from eating and practicing Amy had spent all her time with her nose buried in books preparing for their exam with hardly any time for sleep at all. Not that the rest of them had been playing around but they were wiser enough to not overdue it. Nor did they have Amy's need to prove herself.  
  
That nightmare was however over and they needed to deal with the problem they had on hand at the moment.  
  
''Rei do you think you can find her?'' Mina asked her raven haired friend by the bed.  
  
They were all linked to their missing friend but Rei with her clairvoyant abilities will have the strongest chance of feeling her out.  
  
The distant look in those violet eyes told them however that she was already working on that. The three girl waited silently and patiently for Rei as she worked.  
  
It was not long when Rei started to move by leaving the room. They did not know what it was that she had found out but they followed her. Without a word they took up a defensive position their body tense and ready for just about anything. Mina and Lita took up their position on either side of Rei and Amy took up the rear ready to protect Rei in case it was necessary. None of them spoke as they walked though it was not easy.  
  
It was not a straight path that she took them on. They crisscrossed around the palace sometimes going back the same place they've already passed a few minutes ago. Lita and Mina shared a questioning look with each other, unsure if Rei was having a hard time finding a trail. Since they lived here, Rei could have been following a trail that their friend had left earlier today or yesterday.  
  
But when Rei finally stopped in front of a large sealed double door showing the half moon crest of the royal family of the Moon Kingdom the girls felt dread slide up their spine like a cold dagger.  
  
''Rei, are you sure?'' Mina asked softly, her pretty face was creased with worry.  
  
Rei cast her a glance. She did not say anything only nodded her head grimly.  
  
Sighing, Mina closed her eyes and shook her head. Then nodding her head as a signal for the others she put her hand on the crest. Rei, Lita and Amy followed suit. Together they murmured, ''For the Kingdom of the Moon. For the Goddess. I pledge myself to their service.''  
  
A white light sprang to life and then faded slowly. By the time the spots disappeared from Rei's eyes, the large double doors had already slid open revealing the room inside. Silver banners with the silver palace and the large moon at the background decorated the perfectly circular room. Black and white tiles covered the floor in an intricate pattern but it was the object at the center of the room that captured her attention.  
  
There was a crystal ball resting on a silver cushioned pedestal. Normally the crystal ball would be shining with a dull light tonight though it was glowing with a bright white light that reminded of the moonlight.  
  
Beside her, Lita groaned and put a hand over her eyes. ''Goddess help us all. She didn't.''  
  
''At least we know she wasn't kidnapped.'' Amy pointed out with a vain attempt to lighten their mood. Her blue eyes however were worried when she looked at the crystal ball. ''We should have stopped her.'' She murmured.  
  
The same worry was gnawing a hole in Rei's stomach and like always she dealt with her worries by hiding behind anger. ''Oh yeah and how were we suppose to have done that? Tie her up?'' She asked tartly. ''This is just so typical of the meatball head.''  
  
''Come now, Rei. You know why she did it. She doesn't want to marry prince Diamond.'' Amy told her.  
  
Rei snorted. ''And running away from home is going to solve her problems? Besides it's only a engagement. The wedding won't be until at least three more years. She could have used that time to have shown the queen that she was old and mature enough to make her own decisions. This,'' She pointed at the crystal ball with disgust. ''only proves to her mother just how immature she still is.''  
  
Because they knew she was right about how the queen was going to think of her daughter's actions they couldn't say anything in reply.  
  
''Whatever the consequences the damage has already been made.'' Mina sighed and rubbed at her throbbing temple. ''What we need to do at the moment is damage control. Amy?''  
  
The smartest of the four of them, Amy was the one to ask when they needed to find a plan to get them out of the trouble they so often got themselves into. She did not do it often as she believed strongly in doing the right thing and not lying. But since their friend did have a tendency to always get herself in one hot spot after another Amy has had her share of bailing them out of troubles throughout their long friendship.  
  
''First thing first. Do we tell the queen?'' Amy asked.  
  
Mina looked around the room. Lita was the first and she shook her head vehemently. When it came to the princess she was very protective of her. Rei was silent for a long while as if undecided, in the end she sighed and shook her head also. It was however up to Mina, the leader to decide what to do. Turning back to Amy she said, ''We'll try to keep it from her as long as we can. Hopefully we might find her before the queen finds out.''  
  
Amy nodded her head accepting their decision. She usually agreed with whatever the rest of them wanted because that was the kind of person Amy was. It did not mean however that she did not have an opinion of her own. When Amy did not agree she stood firm to her principles.  
  
''Then what we need to find out first of all is where she had gone. Someone will have to take a tour around the place and find out if anybody else knows.'' The meaningful look she sent them told them she was referring to the cats. Luna and Artemis, their teachers as well as the queen's advisors were very good at finding out whenever they were in trouble. Most important of all they will definitely have to keep things from those two.  
  
Mina nodded her head at the sound advice. ''Rei, try to find out where she went. Amy you assist her with your computer. Lita you take a look around the palace. Make sure you don't get caught.'' The last was an unnecessary advice. Of them all, Lita was the best when it came to stealth and the taller woman gave Mina a sour look. To her credit, Mina blushed. The fact that she let that slip just showed how upset she was over the whole situation.  
  
Sighing, Mina started to work with her hair. ''I suppose I'll go back upstairs. You guys know where to find me.''  
  
What she meant was that she was going to their friend's room and pretend to be her. Being cousin's they looked enough alike to pass off as each other. It was a fact that they had used to their advantage many times in the past while growing up and getting themselves into or out of trouble. After so many years Mina could pretend to be her cousin in her sleep if she wanted to, not that she liked doing it very much nowadays. It was fun when they were children but as they grew older their personality has started to change and Mina was finding it harder and harder to keep up the pretence.  
  
Lita and Mina left the room and made sure to close the door behind them, while Rei and Amy went to work. Though their methods were very different from each other the two girls worked easily side by side.  
  
It was nearly an hour later when they both looked up at the same time. Though their appearances and colors were very different at the moment the looks on their face could have been that of twins.  
  
''She didn't!'' Amy breathed.  
  
''Of all the places!'' Rei spoke up.  
  
The two looked at each other and nodded their heads grimly as they knew that the other one had gotten the same answer. Without a word they left the room and sneaked back upstairs.  
  
Mina was lying in their friend's bed. Her blonde hair was pulled up in two pigtails at the side like buns, the way their friend usually kept her hair. When Rei and Amy entered the room she looked up from the covers and her eyes were filled with question as well as dread when she read their grim faces.  
  
''Where is she?'' She asked softly.  
  
Amy shared a look with Rei. Not trusting herself to speak yet, Rei signaled with her head that Amy should tell Mina. Drawing a deep breath she said, ''She's on Earth.''  
  
''What!''  
  
Both girls jumped at the angry exclaim and quickly made shushing sounds at her. Mina clamped a hand over her mouth and she made and effort to control herself. Her voice sounded however strangled when she said, ''You are sure?''  
  
''As sure as we can be without jumping in to the teleporting device ourselves.'' Rei said grimly.  
  
Throwing a forearm over her closed eyes, Mina groaned and fell back down on the bed.  
  
There was a soft knock on the door and Lita came in. She informed them that the coast was clear and then when Amy and Rei told her of their discovery she groaned, ''She really has gone and done it this time.''  
  
The three girls agreed with her though none of them had the energy to speak.  
  
''How are we suppose to get her out of this jam?'' Lita asked after a moment of silence.  
  
Even as Lita asked that question, Mina could feel three pair of eyes turning to hers. Mina gnawed at her lower lips as she planned. She felt the burden of leadership heavily on her shoulders now more than ever. This was something completely new to her, not making decision she has done that plenty of times before. It had been fun when they were still kids and she had been able to pull rank on the other girls to get her will through. But this was no play anymore. This situation was very grave. If anything goes wrong it could cause a galaxy incident that can lead to war.  
  
The centuries of war between the Golden and the Silver kingdoms had just recently been mended in peace. Still the peace was tentative and if anything happened to the heir of the Moon Kingdom on Earth, the war might just break out again. A war that can pull in all the planets in this solar system. Even if the Earthlings did nothing, there are people who would love to use this opportunity to start a war to gain advantages for themselves.  
  
Oh Serenity what have you gotten yourself into now? 


	4. Chapter 2: Tracking

2. Tracking  
  
  
  
  
  
''Amy can you get any reading from your computer? Rei asked while she mopped the sweat from her forehead with the sleeve of her shirt. The humid air was even worse than on the Moon during the warmest days in summer. Even Mars which was the warmest planet in this solar system did not have this kind of humidity. Had it been heat she could cope.  
  
''No, no reading.'' Amy replied. Her eyes did not leave the screen of the pocket size computer, nor did her deft fingers stop their tapping on the keyboard.  
  
Rei shook her head and looked up towards the top of the tree. ''What about you Lita? Any sign of anything?'' She had to squint her eyes against the hard glare of the sun to see her friend who was perched at the highest branch of the great willow. Even then it was hard to really see Lita as she had chosen to wear green clothes that blended her nearly perfectly with her surroundings.  
  
''Not counting the animals there's no sign of life as far as I can see.'' Lita shouted down to them. She swore and smacked herself on the neck to get the mosquito that was catching his midday meal. Only two hours on this planet and she was already starting to hate this place. Has this place been infested with all the mosquitoes and bugs of the entire galaxy? Even back in Jupiter, her home planet which is known for its greenery did not have this kind of buglife. Unconsciously Lita started to scratch at her forearm.  
  
Amy gave off a satisfied sound. Rei who had been leaning on a treetrunk quickly straightened and ran to her side. ''What? You found her?''  
  
''Not really but there's suppose to be a large city about twenty miles from here. I think we might be able to find her there.'' Amy told her with a smile. Absently she slapped at her cheek. Of course she did not catch the annoying flying thing but then again Amy did not have the heart to kill it to begin with.  
  
''Are you sure?'' Rei asked with hesitation. ''I can't feel her.''  
  
''It's the most logical step. You know how Usagi loves food. As far as my computer is telling me that is the closest civilization around here. She will have to get there if she wants to find food.''  
  
''You know I won't argue logic with you, Ames. But we also know that ditzy can get herself lost in her own closet. What's not to say she heads off in the total opposite direction?''  
  
Ames grinned. ''Her sense of smelling.''  
  
Rei stared at her and the burst out laughing. Amy was right, Usagi's sense of direction might be horrible but she can smell food from miles away.  
  
There had been one incident in their training when Artemis and Luna had dropped them in the middle of the nowhere and told them to find their way home each on their own. Of course that had been a test of their survival skills. For Lita who was the best tracker in Jupiter, it had been no sweat at all. She had come first. Amy had her computer and Rei her special gift. Mina and Usagi had not shown up for a long while that they had started to worry. But then right before dinner, Usagi dirty and tired had come stumbled around the corner and demanded food. She said she could smell it miles off. That had sent them in to peals of laughter. Mina had the only one who had not gotten back to the goal. She had just calmly sat herself down by a waterfall and waited for them to get back for her, which she had known Artemis and Luna would have done by nightfall. Being the only one who was rested, clean and filled, Mina had proven herself the smartest. While the rest of them had been forced to stay in bed or hobble around the rest of week because of their blisters she had run around laughing and playing and having the time of her life.  
  
''Lita, get down here. Ames find a town. We're heading there.'' Rei called up to her friend.  
  
Lita let out a whoop of cheering and started to climb down the tree quick as a squirrel. Rei tried not to look too closely at her or think of just how many feet there were left between Lita and the hard ground. She might not have Amy's fear of heights but at that distance and the careless way Lita seemed to be swinging herself down branch after branch, was setting her stomach into queasiness.  
  
''So, where are we headed?'' Lita asked once she jumped down to ground from the last branch and brushed the dirt off her hand and pants.  
  
They told her.  
  
''Well if she was hungry enough she would have definitely have gotten herself there.'' Lita mused after they were done. ''Goddess knows she won't be able to eat anything here even if she had known how to cook.''  
  
That was true enough. They've all had rather memorable experiences with Usagi's cooking, a lot of them involving leaning over a sink later. From what they could see of this forest there was not many edible things around. Not even fruit or berries. Fortunately they had brought along rations as they had not been sure where they would end up once they were on the other side of the teleportation device. Even Lita with her forest lore was not sure if the plants were safe to eat. Since they did not know what awaited them they needed all their strength just in case.  
  
They hiked their backpack and started walking with Amy leading the way using her computer as a compass. It was not an easy hiking. The foliage was rich and often they found their path barred either by rich impenetrable green or a cliff that they had to either climb up or down. Some times they still cut across and sometimes they had to find another path around it. All the while the sun climbed higher and higher on the sky, frying them with its heat.  
  
''How far is it left, Ames?'' Lita asked during one of their breaks. She was half sitting and half leaning against a rock while she took out her water bottle.  
  
'' We probably won't reach it until tomorrow. Thanks, Rei.'' Amy gave Rei a grateful smile at the wetted piece of cloth that the other girl handed her.  
  
''Tie it around your head.'' Rei instructed. ''That's what the nomads in the desert on Mars do. It'll make you less vulnerable to the heat.'' She took out another piece of cloth and did the same with it before she tied it around her forehead.  
  
With a green wet cloth already around her temple, Lita looked up at the sky. ''We should probably think of finding a place to camp soon. I don't fancy walking around here without enough light to see by.''  
  
The other two girls agreed with her. Amy recalled the chasm they had crossed two miles back by walking on a log that had fallen right over it, with nothing to hold on to and shuddered. She did not think she would like experience that again any time soon. She'd rather take the longer path by walking around it.  
  
Sensing the other woman's slight distress, Rei changed the subject. ''I wonder how Mina's doing.''  
  
''Yeah I feel a bit bad about that. Dumping her there all by herself to handle things.'' Lita agreed.  
  
Amy sighed. They've had this conversation not to mention argument more than once since they discovered Usagi's disappearance two nights ago. ''Lita, we did not have a choice. Besides if she wasn't needed to stay behind and pretend to be Usagi she would have come too.''  
  
Lita snorted. ''I am well aware of that. You two convinced me remember?''  
  
She had first suggested that she alone went after Usagi. She was the best fighter as well as tracker among them. Whatever problem she could handle it. Then Rei had asked how she was going to find Usagi if had arrived in a town or a city? Those places left little tracks for her to follow. She's going to need Rei's clairvoyant abilities to track Usagi down. Amy had pointed out that they weren't sure how well Rei's abilities were going to work on Earth. She has never been there before and they knew very little about the place aside from the fact that it was a land with little magic. On the other hand, Earth was known be a very high tech planet and of all of them Amy was most skilled there. In the end Mina had decided that all three of them would go.  
  
So far Amy's skills had been most helpful in trying to find Usagi. There had been something in the Earth atmosphere that seemed to disturb Rei's abilities and Lita had not been able to find any tracks at all of Usagi. Of course Amy had reminded her that the teleportation device won't take them to the exact place it took Usagi but only close enough. How close they were not sure.  
  
Lita smacked against her arm. ''Well whatever she's doing, she can't be in more misery than us.'' She said referring to Mina. ''Can you imagine her in a place like this?''  
  
The three girls looked at each other and started giggling. The giggles quickly turned into peals of laughter as they imagined their leader who was used to luxury and loved her pampered life, walking around in the middle of nowhere with dirty clothes, mosquito bites and not to mention twigs sticking out of her hair.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Millions of miles away in the sunlit palace of the Silver Kingdom, Mina was walking down the hallway on her way back from a stroll in the garden when she stopped and sneezed. It must be the pollen in the air outside, she thought absently and sneezed again.  
  
For the maybe millionth time that day, she wondered how the others were getting along with the search. She really hoped that they were successful in finding Usagi. The sooner they got the princess back the better for all of them.  
  
Pretending to be her cousin without the help of her friends was not an easy task. This morning, Luna had arrived to her quarters without warning and Mina had been so scared that she had dropped the pitch of water she had been pouring on herself. Fortunately for her, her cousin was an accident prone person and it had not awaken any suspicions from the otherwise very astute guardian. Mina was not sure how she was going to get through the rest of this day. She might be able to fool Luna and Artemis and only because she had bathed in lilac water, the scent that Usagi prefered but Mina knew that she would not be able to fool the queen very long.  
  
Queen Selenity was born a clairvoyant just like Rei. Though not as strong as Rei in that area, she does have the ability to be able to read people's aura in a way that had nothing to do with the powers from Silver Crystal. When they had been children, no matter how many times Mina and Usagi had tried to trick Rei they had never been able to fool her. Rei had said that the two of them might look alike but their auras were completely different. Usagi's aura was silvery soft while Mina's was fiery golden a clear proof of their different personalities. If the queen used her abilities she would spot Mina for a fraud immediately. Fortunately for all of them the queen was off on state visit in Pluto and was not due to arrive back home for another week.  
  
Most of the other rulers of the inner planet had gone there as well, including Mina's mother. Otherwise they would have a hard time explaining how princess Mina, who was suppose to have gone home to Venus for a short summer holiday never arrived. Nor princess Amy for that matter. It would take a while to notice Lita's and Rei's disappearance as the former was known to disappear into the thick woods of Jupiter seeking solitude without anyone seeing her and the latter did not have a family to notice her missing.  
  
As she walked towards the southern gallery where a seamstress had been hired to create a new wardrobe for the princess Serenity to replace the last batch that she had more or less ruined by climbing trees or carelessly ripped by letting it get caught in something, Mina wondered about how five princesses with so different personalities and pasts could have became friends. The answer to that was so simple. Serenity or Usagi as her friends and family called her. That was how.  
  
Usagi might no be the brightest person in the world. Yes she was a klutz most of the time and often got herself into trouble and brought the rest of them along as well. But she had a heart that was as big as the galaxy itself. Slowly and gently she had befriended each of them and brought them together as friends - and sisters. Mina had two younger sisters that lives back in Venus but none of them were as close to her as Usagi, Rei and the others. They were her true sisters by heart.  
  
Of course their paths had not been an easy one. They all had issues that needed to be dealt with first. Amy's I-know-it-all attitude and lecturing tone that drove the other five girls crazy. Rei's antagonism and fear of letting people get too close to her. Lita's intimidating and almost violent personality and of course Mina's own snotty airs.  
  
Mina couldn't help to smile when she remembered what a horrible brat she had been at that time. According to her friends her younger sister, Elyse was the exact copy of how she was. If that was true then it was no wonder Lita had tried to drown her at the pond back then. Whenever Elyse pulled that her snotty princess attitude of hers, Mina had an urge to slap her around the castle and then around the courtyard just for the principle. But of course she would not get away from unscathed either as Elyse would no doubt squeal to her mom and the queen of Venus would descend on Mina like an angry goddess. Elyse was the jewel in queen Aphrodite's eyes.  
  
As always in the recent years when Mina thought of her mother she felt a bitter ache in her chest. She and her mom used to be very close. Mina remembered taking trips to town in her mother's spectacular carriage to get new wardrobes made. Trying them out in the giant private parlor of the rulers of Venus, dancing and pretending that they were at balls and laughing. Yes, the most strongest features she had was the laughter. Even the sudden addition of Elyse had not been able to break that bond as Elyse had still been too young to join them. But then at the age of nine Mina was sent to the Kingdom of Moon to start her training as the senshi of Venus. Since she was only able to return during summer breaks and special holidays, Mina did not see her mother that much the last six years. Even as she grew closer to her friends and aunt on the Moon, she grew further apart from her mother. Though Mina knew her mother loved her, she was old enough to know that they were not as close as they used to be. Her mother's easy acceptance that Mina will be postponing her trip home was proof of that. Years earlier when Mina had suggested going with the other girls to spend some of the summer break there had been met with adamant no. No, she will just have to accept the fact that she was no longer number one in her mother's heart, Elyse had taken over the place and she herself will have to settle for the second place. That she supposed was the price that came with being a senshi.  
  
As a senshi, Mina's first duty was to her liege, Serenity the next ruler of the Moon Kingdom, and second to Venus, her home planet. It was not a choice but a fact of life and one that Mina accepted without question. She loved Serenity as a sister and protecting her was Mina's life and she knew that Rei, Lita and Amy all felt the same way. It was what they were born to do, what they had been brought together and trained to do. Of course none of them had ever guessed that they will have to take on their duties quite so early as this summer.  
  
Oh Usagi, please be safe. Luneir, please watch over her and protect her until we find her. 


	5. Chapter 3: A new identity

3. A new identity  
  
  
  
  
  
A hard elbow bumped into Usagi and she cried out in pain. Some of the passerby gave her strange looks but the culprit was not one of those, no the cad just kept on walking towards his destination. Rubbing her side where it was throbbing with pain, Usagi had a great mind to run after the man and kick him in the chin; hard. But since she did not want to attract attention, she kept a tight rein on her temper and settled for a baleful look at the man. After all, she had gone through a lot of pains to prevent herself from being discovered.  
  
Unconsciously Usagi lifted a hand and touched her short cropped hair. Because she knew people will be sent out to find her and bring her back once her absence was noticed, Usagi had gone through a lot of pains to make that task as difficult as possible. One was to cut off her beloved long hair with a knife. Partly because she did not want them to be discovered by road and reveal her presence and partly because she did not have the heart to burn them she had braided the silvery strands of pale blonde hair into a long braid that she kept in her backpack. A reminder of her former life on the moon.  
  
It was a former life because she did not have any intention of returning there, at least not until her mother broke off her engagement with prince Diamond. The sense of betrayal and pain came rushing forward at the thought of her mother's deed and tears began swimming up her blue eyes. Angrily Usagi brushed the tears away. Since she was disguised as a boy at the moment it would not do to cry. There was nothing she could do about the anger that she felt though.  
  
No way she was going to marry a total stranger that she did not love. Especially not when she knew her own mother had married out of love. If she could how could she expect Usagi to do differently? Didn't she deserve some happiness also? Of course queen Selenity had not seen it that way. She had claimed that Usagi would know the same kind of happiness that she had experienced with Usagi's father. All it took was time and she was sure Usagi would come to love her husband. Which was of course only a load of crap. The queen was only thinking of securing the alliance. Her own daughter's happiness did not matter at all. After all wasn't she just bartering Usagi away like a goods at auction to the highest bidder? Being the princess of the Moon and the next ruler of the Moon, there had been plenty of proposals for Usagi's hand. None however had quite the station or power or lineage as prince Diamond though. At least that is what Rei said.  
  
Damn Rei! If she thought prince Diamond was such a good match then why didn't she marry him? Then she could be the queen of Mars as well as queen of Jeweln and lord over everybody as she normally did with the only difference that she would then have the title as well as the power behind her.  
  
The others were no better. Lita who had gone starry eyed at the mention of the prince had in fact wondered if he looked anything as handsome as her old boyfriend! Since none of them had ever met this notorious boyfriend she keeps mentioning since two years back and kept claiming every guy that she had developed a crush on resembled him, Usagi was beginning to suspect that the guy was just a figment of her friend's imagination. Fine if he resembled Lita's boyfriend then maybe she could marry him.  
  
Even Mina had been no help there. Being the senshi of love, Usagi had thought that her cousin would at least see her point of view.  
  
Amy was the only one that had been the slightly supportive but like always Amy's support was double edged. She was being sympathetic to both sides, which was of course no support at all. What Usagi needed was a full time one hundred percent support. Since it was obvious her friends weren't going to provide that for her, then she had no choice but to take matters into her own hands.  
  
Her stomach growled loudly, reminding her that she hadn't eaten since dinner last night which was more than half a day ago since it was well over mid-afternoon. Usagi took a look around her surrounding and her eyes fell on the bakery stand where all kinds of tarts was displayed. Spellbound, Usagi started to walk towards the stand.  
  
The merchant seeing a potential customer from the stars shining in those blue eyes took a quick survey of the child. A young boy, short and slender with a face that was quite handsome bordering to pretty with those long lashes and smooth cheeks. The clothes were ordinary but made of a finer fabric than what normal peasants would wear. That spoke of money and immediately a dazzling smile graced his face.  
  
''A my young lad. See something you like? The finest tarts in the town if I do say so myself. Here have a taste.'' He took one of his finest and most expensive tart and offered it to the boy.  
  
Usagi looked at the tart like a four year old at a her favorite sweet and a brilliant smile lit her face. ''Really?'' she asked and when the merchant nodded his head she did not waste another minute.  
  
The merchant blinked in surprise when the boy snatched the tart away from his hand with a lightning speed and he blinked even more at the way the fine food was shoveled in to the boys mouth. The lad might have money to buy fine clothes but he was certainly lacking in table manners and watching him eat, the merchant had to keep back a shudder of revulsion at the sight of his beloved tarts being gobbled without the smallest sign of holding back to enjoy it. The only comfort he got was the thought of the money he would make out of the lad as it was obvious that he was a hungry one.  
  
Giving another beaming smile, the merchant said after Usagi was finished with the tart, ''I see you enjoyed my tart. How about trying another one?''  
  
Usagi's eyes turned as round as teacup at the offer. The man was actually offering her more food? Still with cream around her face, she nodded her head vigorously. The kind man gave her another indulgent smile and selected another tart for her this one with strawberry fillings on top which Usagi greedily stuffed in to her.  
  
For the next half an hour, Usagi spent her time enjoying one delicious tart after another, filling her stomach to the fullest. Having eased her hunger, Usagi wiped the last of the crumbs from her face and patted her full stomach with a satisfied sound.  
  
''Thanks mister. That was awfully nice of you. I haven't eaten this good of tarts in a very long time. Maybe I'll come by some other time and buy some from you.'' She said with a smile and turned to leave.  
  
A hard hand grasped her elbow and pulled her back forcefully before she could take more than a step. ''Not so fast lad. You forgot to pay.''  
  
A sudden chill crept up her spine and Usagi frowned up at the man. ''Pay? But I haven't bought anything.''  
  
She did not like the way he was looking down at her nor the smile he bestowed on her while he said. ''But of course you did. You ate three of my Kingcream tarts, two Strawberrytart and six cookies and three brownies. That will be 3 Kingdom gold.''  
  
''But you gave me those.'' Usagi told him with confusion even as she tried to entangle her arm from his viselike grip.  
  
''There's nothing free in this world, laddie. Do I look like I'm running a charity stand?'' He asked her and waved a hand at his impressive stand. ''Now are you going to pay up or am I going to have to call the authorities?'' he asked in an ominous voice. The merchant realized that he had made a mistake in thinking he had managed to reel in a fat fish. The boy had actually thought he could get away without paying having eaten most of the fine things in his stand.  
  
Trapped, Usagi felt herself panicking. She had brought along with her some money but not the local currency. She was pretty sure that the man would not accept the Moon gold or Venusian silvers she had in her pocket. Plus she did not want to give him them as it would reveal too much about herself. What should she do? A small crowd were already gathering around them attracted to the scene by the merchant's loud voice.  
  
''Look I didn't eat anything that you didn't offer me. You never told me that I would have to pay after I had eaten it. You gave them to me.'' Usagi pointed out to the merchant.  
  
Her reasoning went home to some ears as she got several approved noises from the crowd. That however only seemed to make the merchant even angrier. His face started to turn furiously red and Usagi watched with fascination and fear as a vein against his temple ticked visibly. ''You bloody kid! I offered you the first one as a sample. The rest are not for free any bloody fool knows that!'' He bellowed at her.  
  
Usagi flinched at the tone of voice as well as the choice of words. Nobody had ever yelled at her like this before in her life. Sure Rei often snapped at her and once in a while if Usagi had annoyed her too much she would yell at her, but never with this kind of meanness. She felt tears form in her eyes. ''But you did offer me them.'' She told him with a broken voice.  
  
The man watched the lad who was at any moment going to start crying and because the lad was getting sympathetic looks from the crowd while he was getting some disapproving frowns, the merchant's temper turned even hotter. ''Are you going to bloody pay up now or do I have to turn you over to the authorities, you thief?''  
  
Usagi sucked in her breath in outrage at being called a thief. ''I did not steal anything.'' She protested.  
  
''You ate my food and now you refuse to pay for them, that's stealing in my book. So what's it going to be?'' He asked her.  
  
Looking up at his dark ominous eyes, Usagi felt dread in a way that she had never experienced before. His hand tightened painfully on her arm and she let out a small sound in pain but that was also cut off shortly as he increased the pressure. Tears that had been forming in her eyes spilled over as the pain in her arm magnified. Usagi was very much afraid that he intended to break her arm.  
  
Fear such as she never felt before slashed at her heart and suddenly Usagi felt very much alone and vulnerable. Goddess what was she going to do now? There was no Mina, Amy, Rei or Lita to help her get out of this mess. What is she to do?  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
''Halt.'' Darien reined in his white steed and halted on the road. His companions quickly followed his suit.  
  
''What's wrong, Dare?'' Jadeite one of his personal guards as well as a close friend asked with a frown, pulling up beside him. ''We're almost at the mansion.''  
  
Darien's attention was caught towards the crowd that had gathered in one of the smaller streets that branched out of the main town road. Too far to hear what was being discussed he could still pick out the angry tone of voices that carried from there.  
  
''Something seems to be up over there. Let's check it out.'' He said and then without another word he dismounted from his horse and started walking towards the crowd.  
  
''Dare, wait!'' Nephrite called out but it was already too late. Darien was swallowed by the crowd. He cast a frustrated look at his companions. Jadeite only grinned jumped off his own horse and hurried after their liege. Zoicite smiled and shrugged, before he gracefully dismounted from his mount. ''Great.'' Nephrite muttered under his breath before he followed suit. ''You do know that Kunzite will have our heads if anything happens here.'' He told his friend as they maneuvered through the crowd.  
  
Zoicite never letting his eyes off from Darien's dark head, grinned. It was a youthful and boyish grin. ''Relax Neph. You're turning more and more like Kunzite for each day. Besides, '' He added with a devilish twinkle in his pale green eyes, ''he left Jadeite in charge this time remember?''  
  
Neph's dark eyes turned slightly to the left where the blonde head of their friend was hurrying after Darien. Both men were tall and the top of their heads were easily distinguished from the crowd. This of course had its advantages and disadvantages. Out here they were like sitting ducks, easily picked out by the crowd. Of course they were all very well trained having been taught by the elite soldiers of the Earth. Normally Nephrite might have relaxed and followed suite, he might not be a daredevil like Zoicite or a rogue like Jadeite but he was close enough with them in personality to enjoy a little fun or two. The problem was that he had consulted the stars yesterday and the constellations had told him that something of importance was going to happen to Darien today. He didn't know whether it was a good or bad thing but it worried him nonetheless, which was why he was being extra careful today.  
  
By the time Nephrite and Zoicite pushed themselves through the crowd they saw Darien murmur something to Jadeite. The younger man nodded his head and squaring his shoulders he cleared his voice and stepped forward. ''Here now what's the meaning of this?'' He asked with an authoritative voice.  
  
Nephrite and Zoicite joined Darien. Zoicite's green eyes looked with curiosity at the scene in front of them. Nephrite didn't bother to look. Instead he scanned their surroundings with dark penetrating eyes, trying to register an possible danger. He was still able to hear however.  
  
''This lad here, ate my food and now he refuses to pay.'' A voice said in a voice that was a mixture of whining and rumbling.  
  
''Is that true, boy?'' Jadeite asked.  
  
''He gave them to me.'' Came the squeaky reply.  
  
Despite himself Nephrite winced at that voice. It was a voice that belonged to a lad that was clearly hanging between becoming a man and still lingering as a boy. He remembered his own headache as an adolescent, though his voice was never this bad. But still the lad had his sympathy.  
  
''That's a lie!'' The man burst out.  
  
''Easy there, good man. Let the boy finish.'' Jadeite told the man off with a soft voice.  
  
From the tone of his voice, Nephrite knew that his soft hearted friend was already sympathetic to the lad's mission. That had always been a problem with Jadeite. He usually formed an opinion before he had all the facts straight. Too quickly if Nephrite had to say it himself. The man called it instincts, but to Nephrite's thinking it was called plain rashness.  
  
Given the opportunity to say his cause, the boy started to explain his situation to Jadeite. Nephrite only listened halfheartedly to the explanation. During this time Jadeite made several encouraging sounds and the baker made even more noises of no doubt protest but was silenced.  
  
Then the baker was given his chance to speak. As far as Nephrite was concerned the man was taking far too long. Jadeite should have cut him off in half, but it was clear that he was enjoying himself as the role of a magistrate. Nephrite shifted his feet restlessly.  
  
Leaning closer to Darien he whispered. ''Dare, you had better cut Jade's rein short or we'll end up spending the night here.'' He did not have to add that they were already behind schedule. Dare's sense of time was even better than theirs.  
  
Darien gave Jadeite a bemused look. He knew the blonde man well enough to see that the he was getting pretty warmed up to his role. Once steamed up however, Jadeite can go on forever. Putting a knuckle over his mouth he pretended to cough slightly. Jadeite immediately queued in on his signal and without glancing at Darien, he spoke up and interrupted the baker.  
  
''The problem seems to me not a big one as it is clear that its all just one big misunderstanding. As it is a celebrating occasion today, let's say that he pays you for half of the amount and you look upon the rest as a generous gift to someone who obviously know how to enjoy real food?''  
  
''No way!''  
  
''What!''  
  
Came the exclamation from both parties. It given in such outrageous tone that even Nephrite was startled and pulled away from his scanning to look at the scene in front of him. The scene was a bit comic. Jadeite was standing there, his handsome youthful face wincing slightly in pain as the power of their voices cut through his ears. Both the baker and the youth were much shorter than him, the older reaching him to the nose and the younger barely to his chin. Yet the look they both gave him were baleful and ready enough to skin him alive.  
  
''I am not paying him one single copper. He is trying to cheat me any fool can see that and I will not be a participant in further helping this thief with his crime.'' The youth told Jadeite in no uncertain terms. He even had the gall to stab a finger at Jadeite's chest while speaking. The other man was too startled by the boy's audacity to react at all.  
  
At the same time the baker was yelling at the top of his voice. ''What do you mean as a gift? Do I look like I have opened up a charity stand here? I have to earn a living, boy. Besides who are you to tell me what to do? Go home and play with your swords instead and leave the affairs of the city to the grownups, boy. I shall take it up with the magistrate himself. This boy has obviously broken a law and if the magistrate does not want to take this up then I shall petition this to the very king himself. Surely he would make sure that his laws are abided. Am I not right, people?''  
  
There were several shouts of agreement and encouragement from the crowd.  
  
Nephrite looked around the crowd with a slight alarm. It was clear that the crowd was getting restless from all this talk and wanted some actions taking form. No doubt some of them had already started the celebrations early and were deep in their cups and bored enough to look for some fun. From the back of the crowd Nephrite could see the royal golden flags signaling the watchers arriving. But it would take them awhile before they got here and it could already be too late.  
  
Silently Nephrite swore. Jadeite really blundered it this time. If things weren't settled down soon this crowd will start getting out of control. They were just looking for an excuse now and the baker was stirring them up even more.  
  
Not one much for public speech, Nephrite was just about to take a step forward and put things back to control when Darien stepped in to the ring and said with a clear and mild voice. ''I'm sure there is no need to go that far, my good man. Of course as a hard working citizen you are entitled to get paid for your labors. We will simply have the lad pay you back for what he's eaten.''  
  
The lad made a sound of protest but Darien held up his hand in an authoritative way and he immediately fell silent.  
  
''Did you not eat his food?'' He asked mildly.  
  
''Yes.'' Came the sullen reply.  
  
''Did you not know that he was a baker when you accepted the food?''  
  
There was a longer silence and then an affirmative reply came.  
  
''Then you will pay for it. Fair is fair. However,'' Darien added with a steely glint in his eyes. Turning he pinned the smug baker with a look. ''Since you were not entirely honest with the lad from the beginning either, I would say that it would only be fair if we deducted some of that cost as a free sampling of your various choices of food. I estimate an amount of two silver pieces to be a fair prize don't you?''  
  
The lad made a protesting sound but once again Darien held up his hand and the boy fell back in seething silence. Darien was looking at the baker with one black brow slightly arched in that familiar arrogant way that was so typical for his family.  
  
Nephrite knew the kind of effect that look could have on people. Few could face up to him and say no but the baker surprised him by being one of those few.  
  
Glaring angrily at Darien not bothering to hide his feelings, the man was turning redder and redder in the face at the moment. ''I don't know who you think you are to come here and tell me what to do, but I will not have it. You think I don't know what you are trying to pull here? The lad is one of you and you lordlings always stick together. Just because you are blue blooded and born into a different station does not mean that you can cheat an honest working man as me out of his livings. I will not have it. I have the law on my side. Only the king can tell me otherwise and you are not him.''  
  
There were several voices of agreement and some rude comments around them.  
  
Darien looked at the man for a long time in silent. His blue eyes turned frosty and cold. It was clear sign of anger. Nephrite feared what was coming and he said slowly, ''Dare maybe we should let the magistrate handle this?''  
  
His friend and liege ignored him. Instead he said to the baker with a deceptive low voice. ''No, you are right. I am not the king. But I'm sure as his only son. I can speak for him on this matter.''  
  
There was a stir in the crowd one that carried like the torch through a haybarn in the middle of a hot summer. Nephrite groaned. So much for entering the city inconspicuously.  
  
The baker stared at the tall man in front of him, his mouth moved but no sound would come out. Surely the lad was jesting. But then again claiming to be a royal person, and the crown prince to add when was not, was a martial offense and the penalty for that was death.  
  
Then he started to notice the small things that he hadn't before. The color of the man's hair. Thick jet black strong and wavy, the kind of rare hue of black that only a few people in the kingdom had. Those deep blue eyes, like sapphires, the strong determined jaw and that slight dent in his chin that was the same as the one that graced one side of every coin in this kingdom. Then the last piece of information settled in on his dazed mind. The prince was rumored to arrive to the city today to celebrate the birthday of his beloved aunt Celeste, the duchess of Randion.  
  
The truth dawned on him and all the color in his face drained away. Falling down on his knees the man quickly put his forehead on the hard paved ground. ''Your highness. Forgive me. I did not recognize you. Please a thousand forgiveness. I beg you humbly for the unintentional slight.''  
  
Around them the people started to follow suit and one by one people started to fall down on their knees, until only Darien and his three friends were left standing along with the group of soldiers that were heading their way.  
  
Disgusted with the show of groveling as well as his own thoughtless actions, Darien told them to stand up. Trust his temper to get the better of him. He hated the sight of groveling or as his teachers called it showing him the proper respect due his title and position. This was one of the reason why he had wanted to enter the town incognito.  
  
Well there was nothing to it now, the damage was already made.  
  
''Jade, pay the man for his trouble.''  
  
''Who me?'' When Darien made slight growl and the man quickly muttered. ''All right, all right.''  
  
Darien ignored his friend while he with a grumble started counting up the money to the awed baker. Turning to the lad who had gotten them all up in this mess in the first place, he said. ''You are coming with us.''  
  
When the boy did not move or stir from his place, Darien bit back an oath. He took one step, which was all that was required to reach the boy, bent down and grabbed hold of the boy by the arm and hauled him up. Then without a word he dragged the lad with him as they left the street and headed back for the horses.  
  
The captain of the guards approaching them took one look at Darien's face and quickly saluted. ''Your highness. We were not aware of your arrival. Is everything well here?''  
  
''Everything's under control. Just some minor problems but we've straightened them out.''  
  
''Then may I escort you to the duchess's residence?''  
  
Darien inwardly sighed. No definitely no escaping that. ''Lead the way, Captain.''  
  
The man saluted once again. Then he called up his second in command and gave orders for him to clear things out and report back to him and ordered the rest of his men to form up. Within seconds Darien, Nephrite and Zoicite were surrounded by the city guards acting as body guards.  
  
''Are we going to wait on Jade?'' Zoicite asked as they started back down the street they came from.  
  
''No he'll catch up.'' Darien said then to his charge. ''Stop struggling.''  
  
''I will if you would just let me go.'' Came the pert reply.  
  
''I think not. You have caused enough trouble as it is.''  
  
There was a rude snort, one which got Darien's brows to rise. ''Oh no I'm not going to take the credit for that thing back there. You're the one who caused the scene.''  
  
Because there was some ring of truth in what the boy said, Darien glowered down at him. He was not used to being treated with rudeness. ''I'm not the one caught stealing.''  
  
''I wasn't stealing. I was being cheated. Now unhand me.''  
  
Because the last had been said in a command, Darien's glower turned darker. He was not used to being ordered around and he found that he did not like that much at all. ''If I were you, I would be very careful with what I am saying at the moment. You are in enough problem as it is, boy.''  
  
''No more than you will be if you do not let me go. You might be the prince here but –''  
  
''Yes?'' Darien prompted silkily, daring him to continue.  
  
There was a moment of silence and then the boy said, ''But even princes have no right to kidnap people against their wills. I have rights and I demand to be released at once!''  
  
''You can speak about your right to your hearts content once we reached the duchess' residence. Maybe a week or two in her dungeon can make you realize the err of your ways. Her dungeons had not been used in a while now, there are plenty of bones and pesky things to keep you busy down there.''  
  
There was a satisfactory squeak at that. But then boy quickly recovered and gave a rude retort back at him, which further annoyed Darien.  
  
From behind them Zoicite and Nephrite watched the pair fight as their walked. In all the years he had known Darien, Zoicite had never seen his friend in this kind of mood before. Normally Darien was an easy going person who got along with everybody. But now he was seeing his friend actually threatening to torture the boy with all kinds of unpleasant stuffs. Some that Zoicite was sure had not been used on Earth for centuries, much less for a crime as small as the one the lad had committed. The surprising thing was that instead of being afraid the boy was giving as much as he got. Despite knowing whom Darien was, he was calling him all sorts of name and making rude comments, behaving in general not much like a boy whom knew his place. Even Zoicite being raised as a noble and a close friend of Darien knew that there were some lines he never crossed with his friend. This boy not only crossed them, he damn well trampled over them. Zoicite did not know whether to be bemused or intrigued at the new sides he was discovering in Darien.  
  
Beside him, Nephrite was watching the pair with worry in his eyes. He was not sure how he knew but he was sure that the significant things he had seen in the stars that was suppose to happen to Darien had something to do with this boy. Whether it was good or bad he still did not know and somehow that worried the hell out of him. Just who was this boy? 


	6. Chapter 4: Aborted mission

4. Aborted mission  
  
  
  
  
  
''I've found her!''  
  
Amy and Rei who both had been hunching over the city map looked up with a start as Lita burst in to their room. Amy hurriedly went to the door. After seeing that the hall was empty, she closed the door quietly behind Lita. ''Are you sure?'' She asked as she joined them by the table.  
  
''Where is she?'' Rei demanded.  
  
Lita crossed her arms over her chest and braced herself for their reactions. ''At the palace. She's posing as one of the pageboys. And I'm definitely sure it's her.''  
  
Just as she had expected they were shocked. Amy blinked several times and opened her mouth but no words would come out. Rei turned absolutely still looking like she had been frozen in time.  
  
''She what?'' The sound came from Amy but it was no louder than a squeak.  
  
Lita grinned. Seeing their reaction sort of made her feel better and she could even find the humor in the whole situation. ''Quite ingenious of her, isn't it? We've been so focused on looking for a girl that we never thought of the idea that she would disguise herself as a boy.''  
  
''How is she?''  
  
"Quite all right actually. Healthy and strong. Fast too. I've never seen someone disappear from sight quite that fast. If I hadn't known her as well as I did and recognized the way she moved I would never have guessed it was her.''  
  
''She saw you?''  
  
''Uhuh. I think she came to bring a message to Nephrite, you know the guardsman that I met the other day? Anyways when she saw me she started to run the other way. According to Nephrite prince Endymion saved her from an angry merchant who was going to have her hand for eating his food and not paying for them. A hefty sum too it was. He must have felt sorry for her, the prince that is, because instead of throwing her in jail he hired her and made her work off her debts to him. She's known as Stevie there.''  
  
''I'm going to kill her. I'm bloody well going to kill her.'' This was from Rei who had finally managed to gather her wits. The words were hissed out through clenched teeth and her eyes were livid, burning with an inner fire.  
  
They all knew her well enough to recognize the signs. So both girls kept quiet while she let her temper roll.  
  
''Damn inconsiderate and selfish brat. We've been spending weeks worrying about her imagining her rotting away in a jail or something and all this time she had been living a pampered life at the palace. Playing a cross dresser, using an alias. Eating a royal dinner and expecting to get away with it. That is just so typical of her.''  
  
She ranted and raved for fifteen more minutes and when she was showing signs of calming down, Amy approached the mission. ''So what are we going to do now?''  
  
''Catch her by the scruff of her scrawny neck and stuff her in a bag and haul back to the Moon.'' Rei snarled. But at the steady patient look from Amy, she said in a calmer if sullen voice, ''We try to find away to get inside the palace and sneak her out before her cover is blown. Knowing meatball-head, it's a surprise that she has managed to keep the disguise this long.''  
  
Because they had all thought the same thing, nobody commented on that. Instead they started out hatching up a plan to get themselves inside the palace so that they could get close enough to Usagi. After a lot of discussions, they agreed that they would go with Amy's idea of reasoning with Usagi to come home with them. It would mean less effort than stuffing her in a sack kicking and screaming, which was what Lita and Rei had been in favor of. Well Rei had been the one that had suggested the stuffing in the bag, but Lita was the one that had suggested knocking her unconscious to avoid the screaming and kicking. But that still left the part of hauling her all the way to the teleportation mode which after a lot of scanning on Amy's part had turned out to be about two miles outside the city.  
  
Nephrite, the guardsman Lita had met during one of their searches around the city was going to have a vital part to play. Amy was still astound at her friend's ability to meet guys. Even at a serious mission like this Lita doesn't seem to be able to take a vacation off the romance front. Yet if he was going to help them achieve their goal, Amy was not disapprove this.  
  
The plan was based on the fact that Lita and him were going to meet later today for a tour around the city garden and Lita was sure she can charm an invitation out of him to visit the palace. The problem would be to get out of the palace and the city with Usagi. That is when Rei's clairvoyant gift and Amy's scanner will come in handy. A missing page boy was not something that would be taken lightly. From what they had managed to find out since arriving to Earth, the royal family of Terra is very protective of their servants. Anybody working for the royal family was taken well cared of. With the frequent attacks lately towards the royal family and their subjects a missing page boy might cause a lot more uproar than usual.  
  
"Well then it's decided. I'll be meeting Nephrite by the fountain and you two keep close by. Once we're inside the palace I'll find a way to distract Nephrite while the two of you track Usagi down. Afterwards I leave Nephrite and move around town and create a diversion and we'll meet up at the teleportation crest.'' Lita summed up their plan then casting a look out the window she added, ''Well I better get myself ready for the meeting.''  
  
The two girls shared a meaningful look. Lita getting herself ready for a date was never something that should be taken lightly. They've seen her in action far to many times in the recent year. The only problem was that they did not have the time to waste on fixing up looks.  
  
Rei opened her mouth and was just about to tell her friend that when the comlink that she always wore under her belt went off. Pulling out the small palm-sized communicator, Rei flipped open the lid and prepared to talk to Mina. Her eyes bulged though when instead of the youthful and sunny dispositioned face of Sailor Venus, the familiar face of a black cat with a moon crescent on her forehead appeared on the screen.  
  
''Luna.'' Rei said recovering quickly. At the announcement of their instructors name, both Lita and Amy turned absolutely still and became alert. ''What a pleasant surprise. How's everything at the moon?''  
  
''Not as active as where you are I'm sure.'' Came the dry reply. ''Mars, you are hereby ordered to return immediately and that goes for Mercury and Jupiter as well.''  
  
''Is something wrong, Luna?'' Rei asked with a frown of worry.  
  
''You'll have everything explained to you once you get back. So tell the other's to move it. You are to be back before the end of today. And that goes for all three of you.''  
  
''Luna, I can't possible arrive back that early. Even if I take the fastest cruiser it'll take at least a week before I –'' Rei tried to stall but got cut of short.  
  
''You can drop the charade Mars, I know all about what you've been doing for the past few weeks. And I can also tell you this, you are all in very big trouble. Venus is already getting her share of it but you three will get yours soon enough. So march!'' Luna told her bluntly. Her yellow eyes fixed on Rei's with a steely glint and Rei had a hard time fighting the urge to swallow.  
  
Since it was obvious that Luna knew all about their mission there was no need to waste time pretending. ''Could that wait a moment. We just found her and – ''  
  
''No!'' Luna's voice cracked like a whip. ''You are ordered to drop all your work and report at the throne room before the end of tonight or you will have your senshi-duties stripped. That's an order from the queen. So no more excuses.'' With those departing words, the screen went blank.  
  
Rei moved her lips but no words came out. Luna couldn't be serious. They were so close. Why would the queen ask them to abandon Usagi? This did not make any sense.  
  
''What do we do now?'' Amy asked softly. Her face was pale and the fear was easily to read in her eyes. Rei felt its twin at the pit of her own stomach. They were in serious trouble now and they all knew it. So far the queen had been quite lenient with them for past transgressions but even she had her limit and they knew that they had gone too far this time. Luna's tone of voice told them that.  
  
Because she was the one giving command, she had to make the decision. Sighing she said, ''We have no choice. We leave.''  
  
''But we can't just abandon Usagi!'' Lita protested. ''For God's sake Rei, I know you are angry with her but she's our friend! Besides we are sworn to protect her, that's our senshi duty.''  
  
Hearing the accusation, Rei whirled around to face Lita. ''I am quite aware of what Usagi is to me – to us. We are the senshi, but don't forget that we are first of all oathbond to the queen. When the queen commands, even our parents have to obey her. And now she has ordered us to return. I don't know about you, but I am going to obey her even if it means abandoning a friend.'' Forgive me, Usa-chan.  
  
For a minute the two most temperamental senshis faced each other, eyes battling their wills.  
  
''Lita, Rei is right.'' Amy said softly joining the argument.  
  
Lita whirled around to face her but it was hard staying mad at a person when that person was pleading you with her eyes. ''Amy, not you too.'' Lita said with a sigh.  
  
''None of us like the order but we have to obey it anyhow. We don't have a choice.'' Amy told her mildly. ''It's a tough decision but we have to do it. This is what we were trained for, what we were raised to do.''  
  
Looking at Amy's sad face, Lita felt the last of her battle spirit die. Letting her shoulder slump as a visible sign of her capitulation, Lita turned away to face the window.  
  
Rei gave Amy a grateful smile. Her smaller friend's diplomatic abilities were always a blessing that she was grateful off. ''If we are to reach there by nightfall, we have to move immediately.'' Rei said to the room in general.  
  
''I don't suppose I'll have time to say goodbye to Nephrite.'' Lita said a bit wryly as they started packing up their belongings.  
  
Rei gave her an apologetic smile and shook her head regretfully. Lita shrugged and returned the smile. It was her way of showing truce.  
  
Amy watched the two of them out of the corner of her eyes and sighed in relief. She admired her friends their spirits but sometimes their tempers did complicate matters. Right now was not the time for them to argue. She feared that they were going to need each others strength for whatever awaited them back at the Moon. She might not have Rei's sensitivity but Amy was good at listening to people's tone of voices and Luna had sounded worried not just angry. Hearing that had frightened Amy a lot more than the promised punishment that awaited them once they got back. Luna was never worried, angry yes and irritated most often.  
  
They quickly gathered their things together and after having paid the innkeeper what they owed for the months rent, they moved out to the secret spot at the woods where the teleportation crest was. There was a brilliant blinding flash and soon the rich green foliage was replaced by the stark pale marble and great banners of the teleportation room at the Moon palace.  
  
''Good, you've made it just in time.'' A voice suddenly said from Amy's left, which made her jump in startlement.  
  
There was a movement and suddenly Artemis appeared. He had been sitting on a white tile and with his white furs he had successfully faded into the background.  
  
''Come along. The queen is waiting at the throne room.''  
  
Without another word he turned gracefully and headed for the doors. He did not look back to see if they were following. When he used this kind of no nonsense voice they obeyed without thinking. The three girls fell in after him, side by side. Amy found herself being placed at the center with Rei and Lita flanking her.  
  
''Artemis, what's going on?'' Lita always the one to get directly to the point asked after having walked in silence for a while.  
  
''You'll know when you get there. Until then I suggest you to keep silent and conserve your energy. You're going to need them once the queen's through with you.'' Artemis told her with a patronizing tone, the in a lower voice most probably thinking he wouldn't be heard he muttered, ''Sneaking away like common thieves. Lying and deceiving everybody. Irresponsible children.''  
  
Despite the gravity of their situation, Amy couldn't help to share a knowing smile with her friends. Sometimes Artemis could be such a nag, even worse than Luna and she was bad enough.  
  
Whatever high spirit they managed to accumulate ran out like water under hot desert sun though, once they arrived at the front of the throne room. Amy felt like a thick block of ice had settled at the pit of her stomach. Her palms were wet with perspiration from the dread that she was feeling.  
  
Before they had left the Moon to go after Usagi, she had promised herself that whatever the punishment the queen saw fit to deal out to them once they were found out, she was going to accept it without the slightest resistance. Just please, please don't let them be stripped of their senshi roles. Anything but that. She would never be able to face her mother again if she dishonored her this way. Becoming a senshi had been one of the few things that had made Amy's mother proud of her. She just could not bare to see the disappointment in her mother's eyes.  
  
Queen Selenity was sitting regally on the Crystal throne. Artemis was flanking her to one side and Helios the other. The addition of the old advisor Helios did nothing to settled down the riot in Amy's stomach. Mina was standing in front of the throne with her head bowed. She was having her hair the way she always wore them tied up with a single red bow and the dress she was wearing was also her own. Well that certainly told them that their scheme was exposed.  
  
The three of them stopped beside Mina and bowed to their queen. Wearing pants it would have looked silly curtsying. Mina tried to shift her head slightly, no doubt to give them some sort of signal but Helios cleared his throat loudly and she quickly scurried back to keeping her head facing forward and respectfully bowed or maybe shamefully would be the exact words. Helios did have a certain way of making them all feel very guilty, Amy reflected as those silver-blue eyes passed over each of them.  
  
One by one the girls shifted under his gaze and Amy was not the only one to exhale with relief when Artemis took words.  
  
''Your majesty I have brought the three culprits to stand before you for judgment.''  
  
At that phrase of word, Rei inhaled sharply and opened her mouth but whatever she was going to say was cut off by the queen roughly, ''Silence Mars!''  
  
The four girl jumped simultaneously and despite their different looks they all wore the same expression of shock and wariness as they looked at the normally mild tempered queen that has acted like a second mother to them.  
  
The queen held their eyes and satisfied that none of them were going to speak up, she continued. ''I don't suppose I have to remind you that using the teleportation device without my permission is a capital offense?'' She waited for a while and sensing their guilty silence she continued, ''Don't think that just because each of you are planetary princesses, you can get away without punishment. I'll let you know that even ruling monarch have been executed for entering the room much less using the device.''  
  
The reaction she had hoped for was quickly evident as more than one girl lost the color on her face. Selenity knew that she was being hard but she had no choice, if she did not instill enough fear in them they will never learn their lesson and she wasn't telling them any lies. Maybe Luna was right and she had been too lenient with the girls, but they were only children. Some of them were relatives and others the children of her best friends. Having been put in a ruling position early in life, Selenity was more aware than most just how precious a girl's childhood was. She had wanted to give some of that to these girls, but she knew now that she was not going to be able to continue sheltering them. They have to grow up and they have to learn. Otherwise they will die and the hope of this galaxy with them.  
  
Again the message that had been sent to her early this morning flashed in her mind and she steeled herself from revealing them on her face. Fear was like a bony hand holding a vise grip over her heart while dread slashed like cold knife in her stomach, but her voice was steady when she spoke.  
  
''It seems I have been too lenient with your training. You do not seem to have any concept of following the law, perhaps you think that you are above the law? Hmm?'' She arched her brow at them.  
  
They all shook their heads, Mina a bit sullenly. Of all four girls, Selenity knew she was going to have the most trouble with that one. Mina's instincts as a leader was good and she rises to defend her friends without much thought. The two of them had already had words earlier today when she had confronted her niece about their escapade. But Mina was young and she had not realized that being a leader sometimes also meant sacrificing your soldiers for the greater good. It was past time that she got her training in the greater responsibilities of being a senshi leader. It was time to move their training another step. A chain was only as strong as the weakest link and to make her chain strong she will have to forge the links individually and that meant separating them.  
  
''Since you all seems to be so eager to take on your duties instead of vacation I'm not going to bother giving you any holiday this summer.''  
  
Dismay crossed all the girls features aside from Rei's. Selenity was sure though that once she was finished all four girls won't like what she had planned for them.  
  
''Amy.'' At the sound of her voice, Amy who had been mostly in a trance jerked and pulled herself together. ''From tomorrow on, you will be training under Helios. You will report to him and anything he tells you will be obeyed as if the commands came directly from me. Understood?''  
  
Amy stared at the gruff looking advisor and felt like a brick had dropped over her head. Of all the advisors why Helios? Why couldn't it have been Luna or Artemis? She got along well enough with them. Helios was the only one that truly frightened her. He rarely spoke and he had a way of making one feel unwelcome. But a command was a command so she replied if faintly, ''Yes your majesty.''  
  
She received sympathetic looks from Lita and Mina. Rei was keeping her eyes straight ahead as if sensing something coming and just then the queen turned her attention to the fiery princess. ''Rei, Luna will be going with you back to Mars.''  
  
Rei licked her lips. ''If I may be bold to ask. Why is that, your majesty? Am I being tossed out of the senshi?''  
  
''No!'' Amy and her friends cried out simultaneously. She had thought her fate was horrible but that was nothing compared to Rei's.  
  
''Aunt, Selene. You can't do that to her!'' Mina, Rei's best friend spoke up in her defense.  
  
''Mina, be quiet.'' Artemis having been present at the argument this morning, tried to save the girl from further wrath.  
  
''No, I won't be quiet!'' Mina said and stomped her foot for emphasis. Then facing her aunt she said defiantly, ''If you are going to toss anybody out, then it should be me. I am the one who ordered them to go after Usagi. If anybody should be punished it shouldn't be Amy or Rei or whatever you have in mind for Lita. I –''  
  
''Silence!''  
  
The command cracked like a whip and Mina shut up, but her eyes were still defiant as she faced the queen.  
  
''Don't think that just because you're my niece I will be lenient with you. Your punishment will be dealt out as well. Now I am dealing with Rei right now, so be quiet or I will guarantee you that being tossed out of the senshi will be the least of your worries, Venus.'' The queen told Mina with a steely voice. Amy had to admire Mina's courage she would not have been able to meet those cold blue eyes quite that long.  
  
Finally though, Mina bowed her head in submission. Satisfied that she had made her point, Selenity turned back to Rei who had been quiet the whole time during the outbursts. ''Don't worry Rei, you are not being tossed out. None of you are.'' She looked at Lita and the tall girl exhaled in relief. ''The next part of your training will however be conducted on your homeplanet. You and Luna will leave at first light tomorrow.'' Her eyes softened and she added, ''The rest will be known to you once you get there.''  
  
Because Rei looked like she had been poleaxed, the queen turned, to Amy's surprise, to Mina. She had thought that Lita would be the next. ''As for you, from now on I will take over your training. Believe me I won't be as lenient with you as Luna or Artemis. You won't be crossing me twice and I'll make sure you will learn to regret it.'' The hardness in her voice made Amy swallow hard. Lita looked from the queen to her friend and worry was written strongly over her face. Even Rei was pulled away from her misery and put a supporting hand on Mina's arms. The girl in question was in too much shock to react at all. The normally peachy colors on her face was all drained away and she looked frightened for the first time that Amy had seen.  
  
''Amy, Rei. The two of you had better return to your quarters and pack. You'll be leaving at first dawn. Mina, if you want to say your farewells now is the time. You won't be seeing each other for a long while.''  
  
They all looked at the queen with surprise, then shared a meaningful look between themselves before shifting to Lita. Having seen their exchange, the queen said. ''Don't worry. Lita will be joining you shortly. I need to talk privately with her. You will have time to say goodbye to her as well. Now go.''  
  
At that command they made their last bows and curtsy before leaving the throne room each casting a supportive glance at Lita. Mina gave Lita a light squeeze on the arm for support as well as passing on a silent message. Lita smiled telling her that she understood both.  
  
The three of them quietly left the room. 


	7. Chapter 5: The Leaf crown

5. The Leaf Crown  
  
  
  
  
  
''Please leave us.''  
  
The request had been for the three advisors of the queen and if they found the request as strange as Lita did, Luna, Artemis and Helios hid it well. Without a word, they made their respects and left the throne room.  
  
The queen did not wait around to see if they had left before she stood up. ''Come with me, Jupiter.'' She said over her shoulder as she headed for the inner chamber.  
  
The use of her formal name, made the dread Lita was feeling strengthen ten times. She could feel sweat sliding down her back. Whatever plans the queen had for her, Lita was sure it was going to be far worse than what the others had been dealt with. She did not need to be clairvoyant like Rei to know that. If it wasn't bad, the queen wouldn't have hesitated to talk in front of everybody else.  
  
They entered the inner chamber of the queen's throne room. It was the room she often used for counsel with the other monarchs of the solar system. A less formal place than the throne room.  
  
Ignoring the round table, the queen headed for the large mahogany desk that graced the platform to one side of the room. The desktop was neat as always, unlike her daughter, queen Selenity was an efficient and tidy person who liked her things in an orderly place.  
  
Lita's eyes were immediately caught by the bundle at the center of the desk. The thing wasn't large barely half a feet wide or tall, bundled up in fine dark forest green wool. She was pretty much sure that it was a Jupitan cape, she owned a twin like that, which was neatly folded in one of her drawers upstairs in her room.  
  
Dread slid up her spine, its cold finger clutching hold of Lita's heart as she watched the bundle and she barely heard the queen asking her to take a seat in one of the two deep high backed chairs facing her desk. But the words registered after the second time and she perched down on the edge of the chair, her eyes never leaving the bundle on the desk.  
  
Without word, Selenity gently lifted the bundle with both her hands and walking around the desk she handed it to Lita. Like a zombie, Lita accepted the bundle and settled it on her knee. The content was solid and metallic to the touch, and heavy.  
  
The dread clutching her heart intensified.  
  
Slowly Lita unwrapped the bundle and as the soft fabric fell aside revealing its content, Lita stared. The crown was made of platinum, forged together with intricate small carved laurel leafs. The front of the crown was slightly higher than the back and a tree was carved there. The crown of the tree was made of one exquisitely carved emerald, the size of child's fist. There was only one such crown in the entire universe and though it was one of the most precious treasures in the world and therefore well known, Lita would have recognized it anyhow. She had seen the crown all her life, gracing the head of a handsome auburn haired man with dark eyes and ready smile. The only time he had taken the crown away had been when he went to sleep.  
  
Through her shock-filled sensors, Lita heard Selenity say. ''I'm sorry, Lita.''  
  
There was a lump in her throat and she had to clear her throat before she could utter any sound. ''How?''  
  
Her eyes never lifted from the crown. Gently her fingers traced each carefully crafted line, each detailed smooth surface of leaf. The metal felt cold to her touch. Devoid of life.  
  
Knowing that the girl would not be seeking comfort in that way from her, Selenity did the only thing she could. She told Lita how her father had died.  
  
King Gregor and Queen Magda had been on their annual tour on the moons of Jupiter when their ship had been ambushed by bandits, last week. Granaid the outpost closest to them had received the distress call right before the plane crashed down on one of the moons. By the time the dispatch sent to their aid arrived to the place it was already too late to save the king. The queen was alive but just barely and she still hasn't woken up yet. Words were immediately sent to the Moon requesting Lita's homecoming, which was how Selenity got alerted to her disappearance as well as the other girls'.  
  
''I have asked Artemis to make preparations as soon as you feel up to it. He will teleport you both back to Jupiter.'' Selenity finished off her story, her pale blue eyes sad.  
  
Lita listened to the whole story silently without interruption. After a while she asked, ''What about the bandits?''  
  
''Kayoko has managed to capture some. I'm sure he's questioning them even as we speak. The leader is still on the loose however. I've sent my best people there as well. They are waiting for you to join them. I thought you might want to be part of the investigation team.''  
  
For the first time since she had learned about her father's death, Lita looked up at queen Selenity. It pierced Selenity's heart to see that those beautiful green eyes were dull and lacked the usual spark of life. Having had a hand in raising the girl, Selenity felt Lita's pain as clearly as her own. Despite her early spurt of growth, that made her look older than her age, Lita was still a girl of fifteen and she had never looked more vulnerable or small as she did then.  
  
Selenity was about to make a move to reach out and comfort Lita, but something in the girl's eyes stopped her. ''If it's all right with you, could you ask Artemis to wait for me in the teleport room in an hour? I would like to say goodbye to Mina and the others first. I gather I will be stationed in Jupiter until further notice from you?'' Lita asked with a controlled voice.  
  
Watching her with steady eyes, Selenity nodded her head once. Part of her was proud of the way Lita was holding herself together. Instead of breaking up, she was taking her responsibility like the princess she was born to be. Another part of Selenity's heart however broke at the sight. Because she knew that from now on, that fun loving passionate girl with an eye for trouble was never going to exist again. Tonight Lita had just left her girlhood behind her. A change had also occurred between them. They were no longer an aunt and a niece, but rulers of two separate kingdoms each with their obligations, status and roles. Like the way she had done before because of who she was, Selenity accepted that loss. ''Take your time. Artemis will be waiting.'' Selenity told her.  
  
Inclining her head in thanks, Lita rose and after having made the customary bow, this time without having to lower herself as much as she did before, due to her change of status, she left the room. Her steps were steady and even as she walked the familiar hallways back to the eastern wing where she shared her quarters with her friends. She held the Leaf crown close to her chest, its presence giving her both comfort and pain.  
  
Just as she had expected her friends were waiting for her in Amy's room. Mina and Rei were perched on one end of the bed while Amy was busy packing her things methodically and speaking at the same time. They looked up as Lita entered and immediately sensed that something was wrong. Alarm and fear crossed their features.  
  
Lita looked at the girls, her best friends and sisters, and she said the words for the first time out aloud. ''My father is dead and my mother is dying.''  
  
Silence fell heavily on the room, while shock painted their youthful faces.  
  
''Oh Lita. I'm so sorry.'' Mina, cornflower blue eyes filling with tears, immediately left the bed and hurried to Lita's side, embracing her. Amy and Rei joined her with less than a heartbeat later, tears already streaming down their cheeks.  
  
Feeling their love and support for her as well as their genuine sorrow as they shared her pain, Lita felt something melt deep within her. The coldness that had surrounded her ever since she first laid eyes on the crown on the queen's table, left her body and with the coldness gone so did the numbness. The pain, each sharper and fiercer than the one before came crashing home on her. Letting go of the crown, she wrapped her arms around her friends and leaning on a supportive shoulder, she didn't know who's and it did not matter, she let the tears fall.  
  
The crown fell down on the floor, the thick carpet muffling the metallic sound nearly completely as it connected. A heart wrenching sob tore through Lita's mouth and then another. Her friends hugged her more tightly, each sharing her pain and her loss. No words were said between them and none were needed either. Because no words can be said that could change reality. All they could do was to hold on to her and become her strength, their love and friendship being the pillars for her to hold on to in the chaos of pain that was filling her, threatening to suck her into its empty vortex.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
An hour later, Lita walked down the same hallways as she had earlier that day towards the circular room. This time however she went alone. Dressed in her state clothes of forest green tunic with golden emblem across her shoulder and dark voluminous trousers, Lita held her head high and regal. Black boots reaching to her knees with slight heels announced every step she made against the marble floors and the emerald cape with the golden leafs sewn along the edges flowed down her back. The emerald on top of the Leaf crown glinted in the torchlight. It was the only thing that Lita carried.  
  
Just as promised, the white feline Artemis was waiting for her when she arrived. He gave her one worried look but didn't say anything. Instead he joined her by the crystal and rubbed himself against her boots in a gesture that was supposed to offer comfort. Lita leaned down and scratched his ears absently but she did not speak either.  
  
Her friends support and help had managed to restore some sense of equilibrium to her but she did not trust herself quite yet. The wound was still too raw. She might be finished with the crying but the pain will take far longer to fade and now more than ever she needed to be strong. Not just for her mother's sake but for her kingdom as well. So taking a deep breath, Lita reached out with her hand and touched the crystal. Since Artemis already set the coordination all she had to do was to utter the magical phrase that would trigger the teleportation. Immediately a bright silvery light flashed and surrounded them.  
  
As the last part of the bright light dimmed, Lita used the opportunity to blink away the last moisture of tears from her eyes. By the time the room adjusted to normal light, her emerald green eyes were dry and her face was collected as she faced the group of people greeting her at the Transportation room.  
  
There were two guards wearing the clothes with the golden Ancient Oak emblem on their clothes that announced their position as part of the Royal Guards, the elite guards of the royal family. Lita didn't recognize their faces and she knew that these were most likely replaced recently. Another wave of pain touched Lita's heart as she realized that a lot of those familiar faces that had watched over her while she grew up won't be around. The Royal Guards only consisted of a dozen of men and women, the absolutely best of the soldiers of Jupiter that held their position for life which usually just meant that as they were killed on their job protecting the royal family members. But that was neither here or now. With a great effort Lita forced herself to push the thought of those loyal soldiers aside and concentrate on the five men facing her.  
  
The man at the center moved forward first and made an elegant bow. ''Welcome home, your highness.'' He greeted Lita.  
  
As one the other four men bowed and murmured their greetings to her. Lita nodded her head to them but it was to the man in the middle that she focused her attention on. Partly because he was the only one that she recognized, all the others were only vaguely familiar to her as her father's dozen of advisors, and partly because the man was aside from her father's right hand also a close family friend.  
  
"Please uncle Joran, there's no need for formalities." Lita pleaded. "How is my mother?"  
  
Joran Riverdale was just like most of the population of Jupiter a tall man well above six feet. He had a typical patriarch face but unlike Lita's father who had the great warrior size, Joran was of the slender lean type that looked more comfortable sitting behind a desk than wearing sword and leading army. Then again he had always been more of a diplomat than a warrior.  
  
Joran's usual somber face turned even graver as he replied with regret. ''There has been no change. We've had the best physician to take a look at her and even her Majesty Queen Lysanna of Mercury came by, but they all say the same thing. It's only a matter of time.''  
  
Hearing those words, Lita felt another foundation fall from beneath her feet. Part of her had feared for this very news but she had held on to the hope that when she finally returned Joran would be able to tell her otherwise but now even Amy's mother, probably the best physician in the solar system with the probable exception of Helios, expected the worst.  
  
"Take me to her."  
  
The crown will have to wait. Her people will have to wait. For just a little while longer she will remain just Lita of Jupiter, daughter of Gregor and Magda. Just for a little while longer.  
  
Joran as if understanding her wish, excused himself and the group of advisors while the Royal Guards escorted Lita to the Royal Chambers. Two other Royal Guards were posted both inside and outside of the bedroom. They were not happy when Lita asked to be left alone but thankfully the one in charge was one of the Guards that had been around Lita's life and understood the urge for privacy that she wanted, so she got her wish through.  
  
The woman lying on the king size bed was not someone that Lita would have recognized at first sight. Though her mind and heart told her it was her mother lying there, her eyes told her a completely different story.  
  
Magda of Jupiter had always been a sturdy woman, more handsome than beautiful with a slightly round face, shining with health and warmth. Tall like most Jupiter women, Magda had a body that was more curvaceous than slim but the woman lying on the bed was neither of that. Her face was sunken and pallid, with none of the luster of health she always wore. Her whole body, outlined by the heavy covers, looked shrunken and tiny. The arms were nothing more than twin sticks and as Lita knelt down beside to bed to take one hand, she very much feared that it would break under her grasp.  
  
"Mom, it's me Lita." She whispered softly as she lifted her mother's hand to rest against her cheek. "I'm home now. Please open your eyes."  
  
For a moment there Lita held her breath and waited with anticipation. Moments came and past and the woman on the bed slept on. Her breathing shallow but even, the only indication of life that was visible.  
  
"Come on mom, it's time to wake up. You've slept long enough." Lita coaxed. "Didn't you always tell me wake up early and grasp the day while it was young? The sun has risen a long time ago. Look."  
  
Lita's green eyes looked out through the glass-covered balcony door and the spectacular view outside of the lake and the lush greenery, that was bathing in the brilliant sunlight. It was a view clearly taken out of a story book, as her mother often said. It was Magda's favorite spot in the entire castle and just by the lake was also where king Gregor had proposed to her.  
  
At the thought of her father, Lita felt a lump form in her throat and unconsciously her hand tightened its hold over her mother's. There were not going to be any fishing trips to that very same lake with the auburn haired ruler anymore. Nor will there be any hunting trips to the great forests just beyond the lake. But worst of all she will never get the chance to make up with him.  
  
Aside from grief at loosing her father, Lita felt also shame when she thought about him. Shame because they had not parted on good terms the last time they saw each other. She had been too angry because he had broken up her relationship with Freddy by buying him off with money and a position he just couldn't say no to. She had felt both angry and betrayed by her father because it wasn't just what he did as the way he did it. He had acted like he was okay with the whole relationship up to the point of encouraging Lita to invite Freddy home to dinner only to spring the trap on her later. Her heart as well as her pride had taken a too big of a hit to be appeased easily. Lita had not spoken to him for months after that and even afterwards things had been strained with Magda acting as the mediator between father and daughter. And now it was too late.  
  
"I'm sorry I wasn't there to protect either of you." Lita whispered to her mother. Then her eyes turned as hard and cold as emeralds as she continued. "I swear to you I'll find those responsible for this and make them pay. No matter how long it takes and how far I have to go to dig them out I'll find the culprits and bring them to justice. You would like to see that won't you? Right?"  
  
There was no response. Queen Magda slept on. Whether or not she had heard her daughter's words, only the Gods knew as she gave no sign or response. Lita didn't give up however, everyday when she was not busy searching for clues to her father's murders and handling her dozen of her father's former advisors (now hers) Lita made sure that she went by her mother's chamber at least three times and stayed an hour there. She talked to her even as she exercised her mother's arms and legs by moving them up and down and massaging them, just as the physician had taught her to do to keep the blood circulation going. Yet however time Lita pleaded her mother to wake up, she kept on sleeping.  
  
"Mom, you have to wake up. You can't keep on sleeping forever. The kingdom needs you. I need you. I can't do this on my own." Lita begged from her kneeling position by the bed one afternoon.  
  
The palace was quiet. It was nearing dusk and through the massive windows decorating two sides wall the fading sunlight streamed through casting orange and dark shadows everywhere. Lita had just finished another tiring meeting with the dozen of advisors and she was feeling a headache building in her head. The burden of rulership mantle rested heavily on her shoulders and she was starting to feel really weary. And yet she knew that once she was finished here she needed to go back out there again to face the world, to face her duties. The only one she was able to talk to about her problem, her worries and her fears was her mother.  
  
"The advisors won't listen to me unless Joran backs me up and the guards all think I'm a child that needs to be guarded from her shadow. Most of my time is being wasted into convincing one or the other to do as I say and not what they think in right for me, when I should be out there looking for dad's killers. I know that they would listen to you. But you have to wake up and help me out. Please, mom. Please wake up! I can't go on like this!"  
  
Against herself, Lita burst into tears and burying her face in her mother's dark hair, she wept like the girl/woman she was. Confused, alone and scared she wanted her mother to wake up and fix things for her and make the hurt go away. Because she just couldn't go on like this. The situation was just unbearable and she just didn't know what to do.  
  
Five days later, the situation changed for Lita. Queen Magda of Jupiter finally stopped breathing, with her body dead, her spirit was finally set free to pass on to the other realm to join her husband. 


	8. Chapter 6: Visions in fire

6. Visions in fire  
  
  
  
  
  
Rei paced angrily from one end of the room to the other and because the room was about one fifth of her bedroom back on the Moon, it took her only exactly eight steps to do that. Had the old wooden floor been covered in rugs, it would have been worn out anyway from the amount of pacing she had been doing for the past two weeks since reaching Mars. In this short amount of time, her emotions have gone through different kind of stages from anxiety, confusion to annoyance, impatience and now finally full steaming anger. Nor did it seem like her situation was about to change for the better anytime soon.  
  
The moment she and Luna had arrived on the landings of Planetarian Docks, instead of being greeted by the Royal Guards as it should have been, Temple Guards had been there. No explanation was given to her why she was to stay at the Temple instead of the Palace. The only thing that she had managed to get after a lot of demands on her part was that her grandfather would give her all the answers she wanted. That was all well by her, except for one tiny factor. He was nowhere around the Temple. A month before Rei got back he left on a mission to Pluto with a group of other Elders and nobody knew when he was getting back. It was all frustrating enough for Rei to scream her head off.  
  
As if that wasn't bad enough, her recent disgrace must have spread like a wildfire around the Temple. Though she was a priestess in training herself, Rei never really associated much with the other acolytes since her training had all been done at the palace and the simple temple there, the very same temple that her mother had used when she had been alive. The few times she had met the acolytes they had seemed to be half in awe and half in fear of her, because of her status as both Princess Heir of Mars and one of the five specially selected princesses to attend Queen Selenity's school. Now that she had fallen out of grace with the Queen of the Moon there was nothing for them to fear, after all even the king of Mars has to differ to her, and they made sure of it.  
  
For the past two weeks she had been treated to everything from cool treatment to snide remarks. She could take the cool treatment as they usually entailed using her to do chores that were not part of her work, but the latter was harder, especially when it entailed not just her but her best friends. That usually ended up with her loosing her temper. She might not loose it often but she if there was one thing she had inherited from her father that was the infamous Mars temper. Of course unlike back in the palace the Elders here were not as indulgent with her when she did that, then again none of them were related to her as the one in the palace was either, Rei concluded reluctantly.  
  
Maybe it was a good thing that this time it was Elder Hiro had been close by. She was one of those more lenient of the Elders, certainly had any of the other Elders caught an acolyte trying to drown another, half a days meditation in her room without food would not have been the punishment given to her.  
  
The fact that she wasn't following her orders did nothing to improve her temper either. In fact it was just another fuel to add to the already ready to burst anger. That and the strange feeling that has been building since late yesterday and that she hadn't been able to shake off. What was it? Danger? Need? Urgency? She couldn't make out the feeling and it was driving her nuts. She had never felt this way before and to be honest she was scared. She didn't know what to do and there was no one to ask either. The only ones she had ever felt comfortable talking to about her abilities was the girls and she couldn't reach them. That was the first thing she had been told when she entered the plane with Luna, without the express permission of the Queen she was not to have any sort of contact with them.  
  
The hell with it, she decided. Whirling around with force, her loose long hair, spreading out like a raven cape, Rei pulled up the sliding door of her room with force. The hallway outside was empty and darkly lit by small candles hanging by the walls, giving off a eerily kind of atmosphere that intensified the uncomfortable feelings she had. A gong was heard in the distant, announcing that it was the third hour of twilight. That at least explained why the hallway was empty. Everybody was at the Assembly Hall getting ready for the afternoon prayers.  
  
Good then she might be able to find Elder Templar and finally get some answers. The Elder had been appointed her Guardian at least until her grandfather gets back from his mission and as such it was required of him to try and answer all the questions his acolyte had. As a clairvoyant himself, he might be able to help her find out what it was that she was feeling. Was one of her friends in trouble and calling to her? Had Usagi run into trouble on Earth? Did Lita's mother's condition turn for the worse? Or was it Amy or Mina? She was sure somebody was calling for her.  
  
Suddenly Rei stopped in her tracks and looked at her surrounding. She was standing in an inner garden but one that did not seem familiar to her. In the eyes of an outsider this inner garden didn't differ much from the other two dozens that were scattered around the Temple. It had the mixture of waist high bushes, bonsai trees, small creek, stone benches and ancient statues of Guardian Animals. But as a priestess in training, Rei could see the small spots of barks and leaves on the ground left by the vegetation that this garden was pretty unattended as if people rarely came by here to clean the place. She found that odd since she knew that the teachers were vigorous of clean places. Keep your mind clear by keeping your surrounding tidy was what the Elders always said before shoving a broom in the acolytes' hands. She should know considering the switching she got for refusing when she was told to do it the first time. Obviously her princess title had not impressed them as she had thought it would.  
  
As Rei glanced around the inner garden, she noticed the worn lines around the benches and statues that told of the passage of time. It seemed she had been too engrossed in her own worries she hadn't realized where she was heading and so taken a wrong turn that had brought her to the old temple part; the part where no acolytes set foot in without permission.  
  
The sudden sound of stone grating against stone gave her a start but thanks to her hard training as a senshi she moved without a thought and jumped behind the nearest bush. Once hidden behind the bushes, Rei couldn't help to sate her curiosity by peeking through the branch to see who the person was. Her eyes widened at the sight that greeted her.  
  
At the center of the garden where a small pavilion had been raised surrounded by water, the stone table at the center had moved aside and light was shining from the opening. The top of a nearly bald head appeared from the hole that had been created from where the table had once stood. As the man came further up, his face was revealed and then his body. The small leaves obscured some of her view but even if she had not been able to see the man's face she would have recognized the small body dressed in the blue striped white robe anywhere. He was a very small man around four feet tall and there was only one Elder that had the kind of small stature; her grandfather!  
  
Rei let out a involuntary gasp and quickly clasped a hand over her mouth. Thankfully her grandfather was talking to his companion so the sound she made was not heard.  
  
"Did you get everything down, Yuichirou? First take the message to Elder Sarith and make sure that he reads it immediately. Then come back here and relieve Fujiro and bring more candles this time. I don't want to trip over in the darkness one more time."  
  
The two of them walked down the path towards where Rei was hiding. While they walked, Rei's grandfather continued to list down the things he wanted Yuichirou to do and the young man kept on nodding his head, the long unkept dark hair whipping back and forth over his face. Rei couldn't help to roll her eyes at the things she heard her grandfather list out. Had it been her she would have long said no to those highly ridiculous and not to mention outrageous things, but this Yuichirou didn't seem very bright as he kept agreeing to all.  
  
As they came nearer to where Rei was hidden, she instinctively tensed and kept herself absolutely still. Though her grandfather was good natured and fun-loving most of the time and even let her rant and rave at him during her temper tantrums, she wasn't so sure he wouldn't tan her hide if he found her now. After all that was personal while this was the temple rule.  
  
"And this time make sure you don't sleep on your watch. Better yet bring a bucket of water and a cleaning cloth. The place could use a good clean up." The small man looked around the garden and when his eyes slid over the place she was hiding, Rei silently sent prayers to the spirits and higher powers above for aid. "While you're at it, clean up here as well. This place looks like a mess. If you want to keep your mind clear you have to first tidy up your surroundings."  
  
"Yes Elder." Yuichirou agreed with a diffident voice.  
  
"Of course I'm right. Now when you're finished with that you can……"  
  
The sound of their voices drifted off as they left the garden and disappeared deeper inside the Temple. Rei let out a quiet sigh of relief and rose from her crouching position. For a moment there she debated over the fact of where she should go next. Obviously she couldn't go down the same hallway she came from since her grandfather just disappeared there and considering his somewhat unpredictable mood he might backtrack and she'll come smack face to face with him. Not that she wouldn't have minded hearing his explanation of why he was here instead of Pluto as he was supposed to be, but she doubted that she would be given the opportunity to ask. The old man was a crafty one when he wanted to be, especially when he had a hold on you.  
  
So which path should she take instead to get to the Assembly Hall?  
  
Rei looked around the small inner garden, while she tried to orientate herself with the mental map she had over the Temple structure. If she was in the Old Temple part then that would mean that she would have to head north and east to reach the Assembly Hall. But since that was the way where her Grandfather had just gone off it was not an option.  
  
As she tried to figure out which exit to use and compare it to the mental map she had, Rei's eyes constantly kept on drifting towards the stone table by the pavilion. Just what was that place beneath there? She had never seen it in the maps drawn of the Temple. Maybe there was a secret exit there that few knew about. That would mean very little people knowing of it, which would in turn mean that the chances of bumping into someone and getting caught would be even less. Oh why the heck not? She might as well be honest with herself and admit that she was lost. Her otherwise normal good sense of direction had completely abandoned her and if she was going to roam around in these hallways she might as well try that one.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Tetsuo walked down the empty temple hallways towards the High Elder's private quarters. His usual cheerful smile was gone and instead he wore a somber look that fit the heaviness in his heart. Feeling the way he felt he wanted to be alone, which was why had sent young Yuichirou away on fool's errands. The lad was a good one, not the brightest but with a good heart, a stout mind and an eagerness to please and do right by himself and others. Best of all he never asked questions and was loyal to his bone. That was the two most important qualities required of the acolytes serving Tetsuo and the other eight chosen Elders. But tonight, tonight Tetsuo needed to be alone.  
  
In Temple standards he was not considered part of the oldest priests group, but he was not young either and tonight he was feeling every year of his age. He was tired, not just physically but mentally as well as emotionally. One would think that after so many years he should have gotten used to it by now, but every time it happened and he had to stand there and watch, unable to do anything but record the things he heard, he just felt so helpless and useless. There had been anger in the beginning too but that had slowly drained away, now all that was left was sorrow, weariness and fear. The fear he felt was not for himself, after all he was a man who had lived through most already. His was not the best nor was it the worst, but it was certainly rich. No the fear was for everyone else.  
  
He had not been able to understand much of the gibberish that had been said tonight, his grasp of the Old Tongue never had been that good nor was he the best person when it came to solving riddles. But the little he had been able to distinguish had disturbed him a great deal, which was why he needed counsel.  
  
Tetsuo stopped in front of a great sliding door and knocked softly on the doorframe. He waited for the accompanied signal to enter before pulling the door aside. Just as expected the other man was sitting behind the low study table with a scroll in front of him. At the sight of Tetsuo he gave a friendly fatherly smile. In another time that would have been comic since the man was half of Tetsuo's age but tonight it felt comforting.  
  
"Ah Tetsuo, come in. Come in. I was just about to take a break from this transcript and pour myself a cup of tea. Why don't you join me? It's from the very gardens of the Royal Venusia. One of the best I was told."  
  
Tetsuo sat down on the floor to the other side of the table. "Don't mind if I do." He cast a glance at the scroll that had been carefully set aside. It was in Older Plutonian. "Am I disturbing, High Elder?"  
  
High Elder Marcus, the leader of the Priests of Fierey, waved away his comment with a negligent hand. "Just a translation that should have been done a century ago. Having waited that long I doubt that it would do any harm for it to wait a few more years." He gave off a grin that took ten years of his face and made him look like a man in his early thirties instead early forties. "Plutonian was never my strongest subject. Sometimes I suspect that my predecessor deliberately left this job for me because he knew how much I hated doing it."  
  
Tetsuo smiled at that. It was no secret that the current High Elder and the deceased High Elder had a love/hate relationship. "Plutonian is not the strongest subject for any of us Priests of Fierey. Just ask around for voluntaries among our fellow brothers and sisters and you will hear many groans."  
  
With a devilish glint in his eyes Marcus mused, "Maybe I ought to give it to Rei. She has an aptness for languages."  
  
At the mention of his granddaughter, Tetsuo felt the strain leave his shoulder and an unconscious smile appeared on his lips and eyes. "Yes she does come by that naturally." He murmured with pride.  
  
Marcus chuckled. "With a grandmother who's Plutonian, who wouldn't? But that temper of hers is certainly Marsian. You know that she has been punished ten times in the past week? Mind you I know she did not instigate any of those, but nevertheless punishment needed to be dealt if not just to help her control her temper."  
  
Yes Tetsuo had been aware of those fights that Rei had gotten herself into. Part of him was proud of the way she taught those people a lesson, at least the warrior part of him was. But the grandfather part of him was also saddened to hear of these incidents. Rei had always been a lonely child, her mother taken away from her young and her father for blaming her for it. Her clairvoyant abilities scared away most people and the princess title scared away the rest. As the girl's only relative he had tried to give as much love and support as he could, but his work often kept him away also. It was not until she had gone off to train at the Moon with the other princesses that she had learned the true meaning of friendship and happiness. Now that she was once again separated from them, this time indefinitely, Tetsuo was very much aware of just how much she was hurting inside.  
  
Marcus seeming to have read his thoughts said quietly, "I just got a message from Shawna. They managed to hurry things up a bit so her ship will arrive in three days. Once she's here you can take Rei with you to the desert and start her training. I'll have Templar give her the message tonight."  
  
Tetsuo looked up and met Marcus' eyes and he could read the understanding there and he was grateful for the offer. Not just because it would give him time to spend with his granddaughter but also because offered him relief to escape. Tetsuo was a man who always did things he wanted to and never bothered with what others thought. Others considered some of his acts shameful such as marrying a woman half his age or now chasing girls that were the age of his granddaughter, but Tetsuo never did. This however made him feel ashamed.  
  
"Forgive me, High Elder."  
  
"There's nothing to forgive, Tetsuo." Marcus said in sympathy. "You have given and done more than most people would. There's no one who would blame you for wanting to get away. We feel pain when we stand there, how much worse wouldn't it be for you?" There was a moment of silence and a slight hesitation before he spoke again, "I gather from the way you look that our bird had sung another tune?"  
  
At those words Tetsuo closed his eyes in pain.  
  
"Aye she did, High Elder Marcus."  
  
"And is it as dire as before?" Marcus asked one raven black brow arched.  
  
His face grim, Tetsuo started to tell him the little he had been able to distinguish and as Marcus listened his face grew troubled.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
The narrow passage seemed to lead on forever. At least that is what it felt like to Rei as she stumbled on in the darkness. Her grandfather was right there weren't enough candles around. The little stub that she had found at the opening had burned out half an hour ago. At least that is what she thought it was. Down here it was hard to guess what time it was. She was beginning to fear that she would never find her way out again and more than once she debated over option of turning back. Her stubbornness had not allowed her to do that, once started she was determined to finish it off. Besides there was no telling when that Yuichirou guy would turn up again with his things and she did not want to get caught. So on she went.  
  
She stubbed her foot over something on the ground and swore viciously as the pain shot up her toes and up her leg. She knew leaving her transformation pen back at the room was a mistake. If she had been Sailor Mars right now this would not have been a problem. She would have been able to call up a fire and aside from saving her bruised feet she would also be saving time. As it was now, she had to make it slowly down the passageway so she didn't accidentally run and fall down the stairs in the dark and break her neck. Of course the fact that as Sailor Mars, her attacks as well as defense was ten times stronger did appeal to her also.  
  
Rei was not sure anymore if she was indeed that lucky that neither her grandfather or Yuichirou had discovered that the stone table had not fallen back exactly in its proper place, thus saving her the effort of finding the hidden mechanism herself. Ever since she entered this secret passage the strange feelings she's been having had doubled in intensity. It was crawling all over her body, making her skin tingle, her stomach roll and her head ache.  
  
Another wave of sensation rolled over her and this time it was so strong that she nearly fell down to her knees. Rei reached out and dug her fingers into the walls in an effort to keep herself upright. Damn, this was really not turning into her day. How much time had passed since she left her room? She had to get back soon as someone was bound to check up on her after the gathering was over.  
  
Her vision swam and through blurry eyes she squinted ahead of her. Was it her imagination or did she actually see lights up ahead? Shaking her head, she tried once again to see ahead and relief washed over her when she realized that it wasn't imaginary but that there really was light up ahead.  
  
Pulling herself together, Rei started to head for the light with determination. Later on when Rei thought back to this very moment, she was never sure if she was the one heading towards the light or if it was calling to her and pulling her to it. All she knew was that the vision that greeted her when she rounded the corner was nothing that she had prepared for.  
  
The room was circular and about the same size as the inner gardens of the Temples above. White candles was scattered over the room though most of them had burned out. A young acolyte was dozing on a chair, his chin resting against his chest. There were chairs beside him and scrolls and inks and feather pencils, showing signs of lots of scribing. Rei barely paid any attention to him however as her full gaze was caught on the person at the center of the room.  
  
The person was a woman sitting on mediation position with her arms clasped together resting on her thighs. The thing that made Rei's jaw drop was not the woman but the fact that she was not sitting on anything but floating in the air. As far as she knew that was not possible. Signs of protection were written on the floor in a circle around the woman. The signs were giving off a strange kind of fire that surrounded the woman in a reddish tinge making her look blurry.  
  
The moment Rei laid eyes on the woman she felt drawn towards her. She didn't even notice when she began walking, her feet moved on their own accord. Nor did she hesitate when she reached the fire and walked through it or hear the sound that went off the moment she passed through the barrier surrounding the woman and the acolyte's startled yell and his shouting. All her attention was focused on the woman who's face, now up close, was revealed to her.  
  
She was beautiful in an ageless way. Her hair was midnight black, long and straight falling in silken tresses down her back and over her shoulder. She wore a simple white dress of a priestess. But it was her eyes that held Rei's attention the most. Violet eyes stared off into space and all the misery and pain of the world seemed to shine through them.  
  
Rei felt her throat constrict and tears fill her eyes. Her heart thudded madly against her chest and her blood roared in her head. It might be hard to determine the woman's age just by looking at her, but Rei would have recognized her anyhow. She had seen the painting of this woman hanging over the fireplace of her father's study ever since she was a child.  
  
"Mom?" She whispered with a broken voice even as the first tears spilled over and fell down her cheeks.  
  
There was no reply. Her mother Queen Pythia of Mars stared into space her face still and emotionless and her eyes screaming with pain. She did not show any signs that she had heard her daughter.  
  
Still unable to believe what she was seeing especially since she knew the truth, Rei reached out with a trembling hand towards her mother. The moment Rei's hand touched her mother's cheek, pain exploded in head and she let out a piercing scream.  
  
Images flashed before her eyes, one replacing the other so fast that she was barely able to distinguish anything. Some were of people she knew and others she didn't. Some where of places she's been to and others she only recognized through pictures or descriptions from others. With each image it felt like a dagger was stabbing her in the head. The last image was of herself in her Sailor Mars form, kneeling over the dying body of a young man with long dark hair. Then the image disappeared and she was looking up at the same face she had seen her older self stare down at a moment ago. She was only able to register the worry in his eyes before darkness claimed her and she didn't feel anything at all.  
  
The next time she opened her eyes again she was tucked away on the mattress back in her room. The first thing she noticed was the pain in her head. It cut through her like needles. The second thing she noticed was the furry creature lying against her side, warm dark body close to her cheek, the silky soft fur tickling her.  
  
The room was dark but there was enough light coming through the shuttered window to tell her that it was day. How did she end up here? The last thing she remembered was –  
  
Memories of her last moments of consciousness returned to her full force and Rei let out an involuntary gasp that quickly turned into a groan when the slight movement intensified the pain in her head. The sound she let out woke her companion as the package of fur started to move.  
  
"Rei, you're awake. Thank goodness, child. I was so worried and so was Phobos and Demos. They made such a racket Templar had to tell the acolytes to chase them off. What happened?" Luna demanded as she sat back on her haunches.  
  
Rei couldn't hold back the wince as the voice of her teacher and mentor cut through her sensitive ears. Staring through watery eyes she croaked out through dry throat, "Luna, what exactly happened?"  
  
Luna stared at her with incredulous eyes. "You're asking me what happened? I'm the one asking you what happened. I leave you for a few hours and the next thing I know you ended up in another fight, I mean really child what is it the fifth this week? And then you sneak off to Lady knows where without permission. And then all of a sudden your two pets starts making rackets scaring the living daylights out of everyone. The next thing I know a young acolytes is running down the hallways carrying you in his arms and shouting for a physician. What the Hell have you been up to?"  
  
Young acolyte? Could it be the same person she had seen right before she lost consciousness, the same acolyte that had followed her grandfather around? What had he called him, Yusho, no Yuichirou. Yes that was it. If that was true then maybe all the others were true too.  
  
Excited Rei reached out and grabbed hold of Luna's paw, the pain in her head all forgotten. "Luna did he say anything around you? Did he tell you where he found me? Did he talk about the lady in the room?"  
  
"Lady? What lady?"  
  
"The one in the room at the secret passageway that I found by the Old Temple. The one –"  
  
"Ah I see that you've finally awaken, child." A new voice interrupted her before she had the chance to tell Luna all about the circular room and the woman inside the protective fire sigil. The woman whom Rei was sure was her mother. The same woman whom they claimed had died when she was an infant.  
  
Both heads turned towards the door and their new visitor or more like visitors. One was a tall slender man with short cropped black hair and a solemn face. Luna's jaws dropped when she recognized the High Elder of Fierey. Rei however didn't pay him any mind at all since she was more interested in his short companion. Her face lit up like sunshine, "Grandpa!" She said with delight.  
  
"Hello kitten. I heard you've been really busy while I was gone." Tetsuo said with a grin and came forward to wrap his arms around his granddaughter slender body. He held her tight and gave a silent prayer of thanks that she was safe. When he had seen her unconscious form in Yuichirou's arms and found out where she had been it had taken off twenty years of his life.  
  
Rei closed her eyes and inhaled the familiar scent that was her grandfather: mint and pinewood. She didn't mind the fact that he was holding her tight enough to make it hard for her to breath. It had been a long time since she had been held and she had forgotten how wonderful it could be. She was safe. She was loved. She was home.  
  
"I missed you grandpa."  
  
"I missed you too, kitten." Tetsuo whispered back softly into her hair. Then he entangled himself and fixed her with a steely look. "If you pull a stunt like that again, young lady, I will personally give you the tanning of your life."  
  
Rei looked at him with surprise. In all her life he had never used that kind of tone with her before and then she realized the reason behind it and her eyes softened. Her grandfather might act like a carefree old geezer that is not interesting in anything but chasing young skirts and though many caught his fancy there were only three females who had ever held his heart: his wife, his daughter and his granddaughter. Family had always meant the world to him.  
  
Suddenly Rei remembered the incredible news she had for him and her eyes lit up with happiness. "Grandpa you wouldn't believe what I just found out. I –"  
  
"All in good time, child. First we need to check up on again and make sure that you're really okay." Tetsuo cut her off. "Since High Elder Marcus is our best physician I've asked him as a personal favor for me to do that. Now Luna, I don't want to be rude but would you give us a moment alone?"  
  
Luna looked from one face to another and finally she said to Rei, "I'll go to the kitchen and see if they caught some fresh fish from the river. If you need me just send someone down there." Then without a word she gracefully got to up and slinked out the room.  
  
Marcus slid the door shut behind the cat. He shared a look with Tetsuo and then cleared his throat, "Now Rei I –"  
  
"You knew all along didn't you?" Rei cut him off, staring accusingly at her grandfather, unmindful of the fact that she had just broken a severe law. When the High Elder spoke nobody interrupted since he or she is considered to speak for Fierey. She was far more interested in finding out something else. She had not missed the looks they had shared and unlike what they had intended she had seen a lot deeper. When Tetsuo refused to meet her eyes, she knew she was right. "All this time you let me believe she was dead. Why? Why in the name of the Elements? Why? How could you take her away from me like that?"  
  
When Tetsuo would not answer her, Rei turned away from him with disappointment and in thus missed the pain that flashed through his eyes. Marcus however did not and his voice turning steely, he said, "Rei, listen to me. Do not blame your grandfather. He didn't have a choice."  
  
Rei glared at the priest. "Of course he had a choice. He could have just opened his mouth and told me that my mother was still alive. But instead he lied to me, you all did!"  
  
"Things are not as simple as that. If you would only hear us out."  
  
"No, Elder!" The sharp command came from Tetsuo and it startled her enough to make her look back at him and she was surprised when she saw the small man looking steely at his superior.  
  
Marcus sighed. "I know how you feel but she has a right to know the truth. She already knows too much and if we don't tell her the rest she might jeopardize everything. Are you willing to risk that?"  
  
"She does not need to know." Came the biting reply.  
  
"Know what?" Rei demanded with confusion and anger. She hated when people talked over her head as if she wasn't there.  
  
"Yes she does and you and I both know its true. You saw what happened down there. And if what Yuichirou and Fujiro said is true this might be what we have been missing from the very beginning."  
  
"No I will not put her at risk. She is too young and she's not trained for it."  
  
"What she doesn't know she can learn. Tetsuo, time is running out."  
  
Rei stared from one man to the other and then suddenly her patient ran out. "WILL SOMEBODY TELL ME WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON AROUND HERE?"  
  
Both men stopped in the middle of their argument and looked at her with the same disapproving look. In any other time Rei would have squirmed under that stare but not today. She was too angry and too tensed to do that. Somehow she knew that whatever it was that they were talking about was going to infect on her life in a profound way. She didn't know what but just like the night when she discovered the hidden passageway and her mother, she could feel the same kind of sensation surrounding her as if the movements in the very universe was drawing her. So she looked at them and she waited and finally Tetsuo turned his back on the room in general, signaling his defeat.  
  
Marcus looked at him with sympathetic eyes before he turned his attention to Rei. Clearing his throat he began his story or more to the point her mother's story. As Rei listened she felt dread creep up and clutch at her heart, squeezing it tight. A hard knot seemed to gather and build in the pit of her stomach. She felt like she was going to throw up.  
  
"Would you mind leaving me alone please?" She asked softly when Marcus was finally finished with his story. She did not look at either man but kept her eyes stubbornly on the floor.  
  
There was a brief hesitation then Marcus said smoothly, ''Certainly child." There was a sound of door sliding and a gentle breeze followed that caressed her softly like a mother's hand on a child. Rei closed her eyes at the pain that analogy brought her. Her mother and yet not her mother. A woman that was alive and yet not.  
  
"Rei." Tetsuo called out softly.  
  
"Please grandpa."  
  
Tetsuo sighed and walked towards door. At the doorframe he stopped and looked back. "While you think, please remember this. You do not have to do everything. No body expects that of you, least of all, your mother. Being true to yourself is what's important. You already have a path to walk down on there's not need to choose another one."  
  
With those parting words he left.  
  
Rei might not indicate in any way that she had heard what he had said but she had. She had heard everything both of them had said, what's more she had understood far more than they did. Suddenly the images she had when she came in contact with the being that was her mother, started to make sense.  
  
She did not remember everything she saw. Most of them were just a blur now. There were however some images that had been clear in her head. One was of herself staring down at a young dying priest. The other was the Crystal Castle set in flames while the lake shone red with blood. A battle was coming and it will bring death and destruction with it. That is if they didn't find a way to stop it.  
  
Several hours afterwards Rei rose gracefully to her feet. She tidied herself up and then went in search of a person. Her steps were not hurried nor were they deliberately slowed, she walked with the even steps of a person who know where she was headed. On her way she met up with several priests though several cast questioning looks towards her none approached her or stopped her.  
  
Finally she reached a pair of large sliding door and knocked softly. There was a reply to enter.  
  
For a brief moment Rei hesitated. She thought about her friends, especially Usagi of whom she had sworn to protect. Then she closed her eyes and took a deep breath letting it out slowly. With her back straight, she reached out and opened the door.  
  
High Elder Marcus was sitting behind his working table and he looked up at her with unreadable expression. Rei met his eyes and it felt like she was staring down a lion.  
  
"Tell me what I need to do." 


	9. Chapter 7: New protectors

7. New Protectors  
  
  
  
  
  
Usagi used to enjoy riding, but that was before she came to Earth. Back home she often went out on picnics with her friends either to the lake or to waterfall by the forest. These excursions were done twice to three times a week, sitting on a purebred Jupitarian mare and a specially made saddle. It did not include bouncing astride up and down on a crude seat each day with a stupid horse that could not distinguish the difference between left and right and enjoyed poking his head on everything that shot up from the ground. Her backside was sore and she was sure that by this time the skin on the inner part of her thighs had been scraped raw. She hated riding and the only thing she knew she hated more was the black haired demon riding in front of her.  
  
She couldn't figure out what this Prince Endymion's problem was. You would think that after weeks of having worked for him like a slave, fetching this and fetching that, she would have worked off her debts, but no, she was still the prince's personal pageboy. Surely no pastry in the world could cost that much?  
  
Actually working at the Royal Earthen Palace wasn't so bad. The people were quite nice to her and the food was great. In particular, the servants in the kitchen seemed to find her skinny form a personal insult and had taken it upon themselves to feed her. She had never been better fed in her life! Certainly she sometimes missed Lita's cakes but then again she never did get to enjoy it much with her friends constantly complaining that she was being too greedy and never leaving anything for them. Here it seemed to delight the cooks when she devoured their food.  
  
Aside from the kitchen servants the people she seemed to spend most time with was the four Guards: Kunzite, Jadeite, Nephrite and Zoicite. One, if not all four were always around the prince. As far as Usagi had figured it they seemed to have the same kind of role her friends had for her, which was a strange coincidence, but that was where the similarities ended.  
  
Though there were differences too, the girls for example never tried to pound each other the way these four seemed to do so often. Usagi wondered at how these men seemed to like settling their differences by fighting. She was also astounded by the quick way they seemed to become friends again. While sharing a toast they would be still sporting the black eyes or split lips they gave one and other, received barely five minutes before.  
  
Usagi liked them though Kunzite still made her a bit wary. Older than the other men, he seemed to be a bit more serious and aloof then the other three. Nephrite was a fascinating source of information. He knew quite a lot of the lore and knowledge of Earth, especially about the constellations in the sky and Usagi was never able to resist a good story. Still her favorites just had to be Zoicite and Jadeite. They were just too funny, always getting themselves into trouble or playing jokes on others and each other. Things were never dull with them around. Though Kunzite seemed to be the leader of the four there was no question about who was doing the leading when the prince was around. All four immediately deferred to him. Usagi had to admit that she sometimes envied him having that authority.  
  
The four guards weren't so bad. Watching them interact with each other truly reminded her of Mina, Rei, Lita and Amy. The easy companionship, the way they bickered among themselves to show the deep affection they had.  
  
All in all she would say that her life on Earth was all right. If only there was no prince that is.  
  
At that thought her blue eyes shot daggers, not for the first or the last time, at the broad back of the man riding in deep blue hunting clothes in front of her. If ever there was a more arrogant man than the prince, Usagi had yet to meet him. She had never met anyone more spoiled, annoying, irritating or rude in her life. It seemed that he had made it his life's mission to make her existence utterly miserable. He was always sending her to do some foolish errand and if not then he used her to fetch him things from his room. Didn't the idiot man know how to put on his own boots? The worst part was that the whole castle seemed to know about it and called her good naturely whenever they saw her on her errands. He had turned her into the laughing stock of the castle. Spirits, she really wished there was a way to teach the guy a lesson.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
"You know Dare, you should really try to cut the kid some slack." Jadeite told his friend with a chuckle having just glanced over his shoulder at the boy riding behind them. "He's glaring at you with enough force to bore a hole in your back."  
  
Darien gave an indifferent shrug and tried not to roll his shoulders to ease the strain he was feeling. Damn the kid could stare. He had felt the glares he was being given ever since they left the castle that morning and it was mid-afternoon now. "Travis needs to learn his place." It was a job Darien was determined to see done even if it took him a lifetime. Unfortunately, it was turning out to be the case.  
  
When Darien first took on the boy it was just to make sure that he did not get into more trouble out there on his own. With that kind of naiveté and lack of thinking before speaking, the boy might get himself killed. Of course the job was turning out to be far more difficult than Darien had first anticipated. Towards everyone else Travis behaved like an angel but Darien knew Travis was a demon in disguise. He very much remembered the nasty critters that the kid had put in his bed. He would definitely not forget the itching powders in his clothes, though he was fervently glad it was only his shirt and pants and not in his loincloths as well. The hot sauce in his tea this morning was also memorable. Not that the kid ever got himself caught doing it, but Darien knew it was him. After all, all these surprises never existed in his life before the kid turned up. Now he was learning to be cautious of everything he ate or touched.  
  
Darien wished he could just chuck the kid out on his pointy little behind. But he could not do that. From the day he took the little demon into his custody at the market, Travis became his responsibility. Until he found the kid's parents he could not let him just wander off on his own. Darien might live a secure life at the castle but he was no fool. He had been outside the shiny walls and he had seen what was out there, what it was really like. The world was a lot nastier and crueler than people thought and someone like Travis would not be able to survive long.  
  
Yet finding the kid's parents was not turning out to be easy. Nobody seemed to know who he was, just as if he appeared out of the thin air. Nor did Darien dare ask the kid anymore about his past. The last time he did that Travis had bolted like a scared rabbit, it took a whole day to find him and that was mostly due to Zoi's new invention: the tracking device.  
  
Darien sighed. He really had no idea what he was going to do with the boy. He was a pain to have around and cramped his way of living. Though he might be a highborn born to the privilege that his status brought him, Darien was not used to having people serve on him. He much preferred to do things himself, a legacy given to him by his old training master Gavin, he supposed. Among other things, Gavin was the one who taught Darien to take his responsibilities seriously and always finish whatever he started. But he had had to come up with a reason to have the kid around, one that would justify his presence close to Darien, so he sent the kid out on meaningless errands. Errands that Darien hoped would keep him occupied and out of mischief. His good intentions were however, not without a price. It included headaches and tensions.  
  
Shifting on the saddle slightly so that he could turn, he looked at the boy riding behind him, "Haven't you sulked enough for one day?"  
  
The sharp intake of breath had him smiling grimly. Sometimes this kid was just too easy to annoy. He was as touchy as most females.  
  
His satisfaction didn't last for long however when the kid fired back a retort. "It depends, are you satisfied on how much time we've killed doing something so pointless?"  
  
From beside him, Darien could hear both Jadeite and Zoicite choke and he seriously hoped that there was something stuck in their throat that might kill them off. At times like these he really had to question the loyalties of those two.  
  
"Travis, answer the prince properly. As his pageboy it's not your place to question him." Nephrite told him in a stern lecturing tone. Thank God for some loyal friends. "If he wants to waste his time roaming around the countryside, enjoying the view and being the main course of the bug-life around here, as his loyal subjects we do not question. We just follow."  
  
Darien whirled around to scowl at the last of his bodyguard, so much for loyal friends. The other two traitors were already shouting with laughter. Those two had never been dependable when it came to having fun on Darien's expense, but he had been sure he could rely on Nephrite's sense of duty. It seems however he was seriously mistaken there. Ever since a mysterious girl had ditched the guy a few months ago, Nephrite's sense of humor had taken on a warped direction. Darien really wished his father hadn't decided to send Kunzite off as an ambassador to Moon. True, he wasn't as close to the guy as he was with the other three, but at least he was given the respect that was due to him and more importantly the older man would have known how to handle this bunch. Darien relished the thought of the sweaty backbreaking training Kunzite would put them through.  
  
"Yes sir, I shall remember that. Never question the prince even if he's doing unnecessary and meaningless things." Travis said with a face that looked suspiciously mischievous.  
  
Was no one gonna take him seriously today?  
  
Darien did not get much time to feel sorry for himself because just then his warrior instincts kicked in and he had just enough time to dodge to the side as something black and furry came launching at him from the top of one of the trees.  
  
"Shit, trolls!" Jadeite growled under his breath, drawing his sword just as more of the creature's friends came crashing down on them.  
  
All of a sudden the peace was dead and chaos took place. Darien barely had time to register where all his companions were, he was loosing control of his horse. His quick instincts had saved him from being hit but the creature had still managed to claw his steed and the poisonous injury was driving the animal insane.  
  
From behind him he heard a panicked cry from a horse and he only had time to turn around to see a black mare gallop straight into the thick dense forest ridden by a small figure with blonde hair on his back. Darien swore under his breath and tried hard to steer his mount after the rider but just then another creature jumped down from the tree straight at him. A bright object whizzed past Darien's ears, cold breeze following closely, and suddenly the creature stopped its descent and slumped down on the ground with a crystal dagger impaled between the eyes.  
  
"Darien, you'd better change." his rescuer, Zoicite told him briskly as more crystal spikes started to form in his hands. The blonde man was already dressed in his gray uniform.  
  
A quick look around and Darien realized that he was the only one that had not transformed. Jadeite was using his powers to create invisible barriers that trolls kept knocking themselves senseless over and used his sword to take care of those closer by. Nephrite was a bit further away fighting side by side with Taurus, the creature that he had summoned. The large bull was doing a great job of knocking the small trolls around like pebbles and impaling the rest with his horn.  
  
Darien agreed with the wisdom of Zoicite's suggestion and quickly transformed. Light shimmered around him for a short while and when it had disappeared so had the riding garbs he wore. Instead he was dressed just like his friends in a uniform except that his was black not gray. Power surged through him and as one of the trolls got past Jadeite's shield, he held out his arm and felt the power concentrate on his hand. Without much effort or thought he let the power leave his fingers and a single red rose shot out from his hand to hit the troll right in the eye. The creature let out a piercing scream and clutched at his eye. Smoke was sizzling from its head and there was the unmistakable smell of burning flesh that suddenly started to fill the area the more roses Darien threw. He barely paid it any mind though as he was frantically looked around.  
  
"Which way did Travis head off?" He demanded of his friends. With all the confusion going around he was having trouble seeing more then three feet in front of him.  
  
"West!" Zoicite, the person ever careful of details, said as he used his sword awkwardly to fight off one four-foot tall troll that was breathing close to his leg. Tired of the annoying creature he spit at the troll's eye and while the little critter blinked he kicked him hard in the face sending it flat on the ground and a second later a crystal shard was protruding from its exposed throat.  
  
"And where the Hell is west?" Darien growled even as he finished off two more.  
  
Impatiently Zoicite waved his hand to Darien's right about forty-five degrees. A crystal shard shot out and hit a trunk.  
  
Jadeite having not missed that, snorted, "Uh oh. Somebody seems to be skipping his training. I don't think Kunzite is being thorough enough in his supervision."  
  
Heat rose up slightly on Zoicite's face. "Shut up, smart ass. You're not doing much better either. Half of those bastards is getting through your shield."  
  
"That's coz I want to exercise my arm muscles. What's the fun in fighting if you can't give them a chance to learn a lesson or two?" The other man shot back and nearly sliced a troll in half with a swing of his sword.  
  
Darien ignored the two as they continued their bickering, knowing from experience that this was their way of de-stressing themselves. Instead he steered his mount towards the direction that Travis had disappeared to and shouted over his shoulder, "Guys take care the rest of them. I'm going after Travis."  
  
He kicked his mount to motion and shot towards the thick vegetation, dispatching two more trolls on the way. From behind him he could hear Nephrite shouting, "Darien, no!" Then swearing "Damit, after him!" Right before the thick forest vegetation swallowed him.  
  
As Darien thundered across the forest, branches whipped at his face and clothes and some more creatures jumped out to attack him. Those he took care easily enough, but the worry in his heart however did not diminish. It was easy enough to follow Travis, it was obvious that the horse had been the one leading from the wide tracks they left behind but as he was able to spot neither rider nor horse, fear settled in his heart and he started cursing himself.  
  
Whatever had possessed him to take a boy out on a hunting trip? It was one thing to bring the others along, they were trained soldiers, but Travis did not have any sort of training at all. He should have thought about the risks before he brought the kid along. It was all because of his stupid pride. He had wanted to teach the kid a lesson for the stunt he pulled earlier today and what better way of punishing him than taking him out riding the whole day, knowing how much he hated it? God, if something happened to the kid he was never going to forgive himself. And with those grim thoughts Darien pushed his horse to a greater speed as he tried valiantly to search for his pageboy.  
  
Despite following the trails Darien was not able to find Travis anywhere. However he stumbled across something completely different when he entered a clearing. It was a vision of incredible beauty.  
  
She was dressed in a sailor shirt of white and blue. There was a matching blue skirt, a very short skirt that showed of what looked like miles of gorgeous long legs, enveloped in blue boots. Her hair was incredibly long, longer than anyone's he'd ever seen before wear them including his sister Terra. She wore her blonde hair up, split up evenly and rolled into a bun on each side of her head to fall down along her back like twin rivers of gold. Jewels glittered on her everywhere, from a brooch on the front of her shirt and small earrings on each of her earlobes to the gold tiara resting on her forehead. Her face was beautiful, the skin creamy smooth, the mouth…full, lush and pink, and her eyes, her eyes were large pools of rich sapphire.  
  
At the moment, those blue eyes of hers were sparkling with anger as she looked at the group of trolls that surrounded her. She had yet to notice Darien who was hidden behind the trees. She was saying something to the trolls and though Darien could not hear what she was saying because of the guttural sounds the little critters were making, her voice still reached out through the distance, enveloping him and capturing him. His heart took a leap but the rest of him was stunned, unable to move. It was not until his vision staggered turning grayish and blurry that he realized that he had also stopped breathing.  
  
He took a much-needed breath of air. Oxygen surged through his body and reached his brain, making him once again able to function normally. His warrior's instincts kicked in again and he realized that while he had been immobile the trolls had not. The girl was busy fighting as well as dodging the small green furred monsters. She moved with an ease and agility that told him she was experienced at fighting or at least had had a lot of training in the area, though not to the extension that Darien had been through. She used her tiara as some kind of a boomerang, throwing it towards her attackers. The golden jewelry rotated in the air like an arch to come swinging back to its mistress and the monsters that blocked its way all turned to dust the moment they touched it. She fought well but she was outnumbered.  
  
Darien saw one troll sneak up behind the girl and without thinking he nudged his horse into motion. The girl startled at sound of an approaching rider looked up and gasped at the vision of the dark clad rider that was galloping towards her. While her attention was divided, the troll behind her attacked. Swift as lightning, Darien created a rose in his hand and threw it. Darien heard her let out a cry and stiffen her stance as she raised her arms to her face, her tiara still in midair out of reach. The rose flew by close to her and connected solidly against the troll's neck. It let out a guttural sound.  
  
"You fight well, but a battle is always best fought in company, then someone can help watch your back." Darien told her as pulled his horse to a stop in front of her. The girl stared at him, a dumbfounded statement on her face. He nodded his head towards the twitching troll on the ground, and then he turned his attention back towards the trolls.  
  
While he fought, part of his attention was still kept on the girl. He told himself it was because he needed to watch her back but the truth was he just liked looking at her. There was something about this strangely dressed girl that fascinated him.  
  
He watched as she with a dazed look in her eyes, looked over her shoulder and at what remained of the troll that tried to attack her. Half of his body was already melted away. "Um thanks." He saw her glance back at him.  
  
"No problem" He replied as he threw more arsenal towards the enemy. "Now shall we take care of the rest of these creatures and teach them the lesson you promised them?" Okay, so some of what she said had stuck in his head.  
  
Heat rose up to her cheeks, a becoming flush that made her look youthful and innocent. She didn't say anything but nodded her head. They moved at once, standing back to back as if they had done it many times before. Together they worked to take care of the group of trolls that was left.  
  
It did not take them long. It seemed that the trolls were not as dumb as they looked and once a sizeable number started to die the rest of them quickly scattered.  
  
"Phew, I haven't had that kind of exercise in a while." The girl said as she bent over resting her arms on her thighs and breathing heavily. Perspiration clung against the side of her temples and a drop slid down her cheek. Her face was rosy and her eyes shone with a mischievous light as she looked up at Darien with a smile.  
  
Darien was barely in a better state than the girl, he might have been in good physical condition but calling upon his powers like that and using them in a constant flow did take its toll. Though weary in mind, Darien studied her face. He could have sworn that just then when the light shone through her eyes at a certain angle, she had looked familiar to him somehow.  
  
"I'm sorry but have we met?" He blurted out before he could stop himself.  
  
The smile faltered on the girl's face for a split second only to warm up in degrees. "No I don't think so."  
  
Darien frowned. "Are you sure? Because for a moment there you reminded me of someone."  
  
The girl jumped up startling him enough to take a step backwards before thinking. She laughed and waved her hand in front of her even as she backed away from him. "Oh, um, I get that a lot. No, I'm definitely sure we haven't met. I mean I would certainly not forget a nice looking hunk – What I mean to say is, is…is my memories are very good and I would certainly remember you if we've met before. You were just mistaken, I might just remind you of someone. I get that a lot you see, yes, I look so ordinary that people tend to mix me up with other people."  
  
One dark brow arched up in disbelief. He doubted that there were many people around that had that kind of weird hairstyle and strange dress. He knew she was lying, he could see it in her panicked eyes.  
  
She backed away from him ready to bolt, he grabbed hold of one of her one gloved hands, "Wait," he said.  
  
A spark appeared quickly and then disappeared as their hands connected. He felt the power flow through him, warmth that moved from his hand through his body and settled slowly against his heart. He stared down at large deep blue eyes, drowning in their rich depths even as she stared up at his. Neither of them moved.  
  
"What's your name?" Darien asked slowly. He stared down at her with a mixture of confusion and fascination. Was it his imagination of where there like silver flecks in those blue eyes? Not gray, but actual silver?  
  
The girl stared up at him, spellbound and whispered. "They call me Sailor Moon."  
  
"Sailor Moon." He said the words slowly as if tasting the name with his lips. The name seemed familiar to him somehow, though he could have sworn this was the first time he heard the name and yet he was sure he had always known the name, somewhere at the back of his mind, in the deepest part of his being.  
  
He leaned closer to her as if drawn by a mysterious force. "And who may I ask is Sailor Moon?"  
  
"Nobody. Just a traveler passing by, minding her own business when she got attacked." Came her slow reply. She seemed to be just as mesmerized by him as he was of her.  
  
There were a million questions he wanted to ask her but the more he stared at those sapphire eyes, the less important the questions became. The world seemed to vanish and all that remained were the two of them. He could hear his heart beat steadily against his chest. It seemed to match the pulse that fluttered delicately along her slim creamy throat. A movement caught his eyes and he watched at the tip of pink tongue darted out and wetted equal pink lips. He studied the lush lips, the lower half fuller than the upper. He wondered how lips were able to look that pink naturally. They looked soft, lush and inviting.  
  
Darien leaned closer and –  
  
"Hey Darien! Where the heck are you?" A voice shouted and broke the silence like shattering glass. The natural life around them filled the air once more.  
  
Both Darien and the girl jumped back with a start, their hands breaking contact. Darien blinked and shook his head as if trying to clear it. His thoughts felt clouded and heavy as if stuffed with cotton.  
  
"Hey, there you are!" The same voice shouted again and with his dazed mind it took Darien a while to recognize the voice as belonging Jadeite. "Guys! He's over here!" There was a sound of an approaching rider and then someone dismounting. "Jeesh, you really went far. It took us a while to find you, you know. If we still hadn't found you in five more minutes, Nephrite would have called in the cavalry." Jadeite looked down and peered at his friend's face. "Hmm, you really don't look well. You okay? You're not hurt are you?"  
  
"I'm fine." Darien waved aside his hands when he was about to look for injury.  
  
"Good, or else Kunzite is really going to have my head. I've just survived hell for that fiasco at the market with Travis, when he left me in charge. I doubt I will be able to survive another punishment this close."  
  
"You're not in charge this time. Neph is, remember?"  
  
"Oh yes." A devilish glint lit his blue eyes. Scanning their surroundings he added, "Though I doubt he's going to get in to much trouble. It seems you really kicked ass here."  
  
Remembering the fight earlier, a tiny smile danced across Darien's lips. "Yeah we sure did."  
  
Jadeite frowned. "We? You mean Travis helped out? I got say I didn't think the scrawny kid had it in him." He grinned. "Well he's just full of surprises isn't he? So where's the kid now?"  
  
"What? No I wasn't talking about Travis, I - Shit!" Darien swore as he remembered his first reason for riding out here to begin with. The thought about his pageboy had completely slipped his mind. "No I was referring to her –" He stopped in mid-sentence and finally took a real look around.  
  
The clearing was empty. Aside from him, Jadeite and their mounts there were only some body parts that remained of the trolls around. There was no sign of the girl. Where did she go? He looked around frantically but there was no sign of her.  
  
"Hey Darien, are you alright?" Jadeite asked his face now all serious as he took a real look at his friend. The fact that he was looking slightly dazed as if he had been poleaxed did nothing to reassure him. Maybe Darien had received injuries that were not visible. Better have Zoicite take a look at him.  
  
"Where did she go?" Darien demanded and looked at Jade as if he knew the answer to his question.  
  
"Who?" Jadeite asked nonplussed.  
  
"The girl! The girl that was with me."  
  
"What girl? You were all alone when I found you, well aside from that ugly beast you call a horse over there." The ugly beast in question let out an affronted sound and moved his hooves threateningly towards the blonde man. Jadeite stood his ground but he mentally made sure he had a shield ready to pull up just in case. "Seriously I think you should sit down and have Zoi take a look at you when he gets here." When his friend only snarled at him, he put up his hands in the air as a sign and backed off.  
  
Darien didn't miss the rolling eyes Jadeite was making but he was not in the mood to even be ticked by it. "Come on, we need to find Travis and fast. It's getting late and if there are trolls around, there might be something far uglier when night comes."  
  
The two mounted their horses and moved off. Darien could however not resist the urge to look over his shoulder trying to find a glimpse of white and blue.  
  
Where did she go? She was real. He was sure of that. Even if there weren't dust left on the ground from the monsters she vanquished, he could still feel the tingle in his hand from when they touched.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Finally running out of breath, Sailor Moon stopped and leaned back against a heavy trunk to catch her breath. Her vision was unsteady and she was not sure it was entirely from running.  
  
Darien? That dark, handsome man was actually the same arrogant snotty prince that she had been waiting on for the past month? But how was that possible? Sure there were some similarities in the face but prince Darien was young, a …a boy! compared to her rescuer. The man had been taller, stronger looking. The hair a rich hue of black and lavender. The eyes dark blue, while the prince's hair and eyes were only dull black. The voice was different too; his was deeper, warmer and richer in texture. Plus she had never felt anything all those times she had come in physical contact with the prince, not like what she just felt back then.  
  
Even as she thought back to the very moment their hands had touched, Sailor Moon felt a warm feeling spread over her body, a tingling feeling that settled in her stomach. It was a strange feeling and not unpleasant at all. She rather enjoyed it. A dreamy look appeared on her as she remembered that handsome face, the strong jaw, the chiseled nose, the winged brows and those deep pools of dark blue eyes and not to mention those lips. Maybe if they had not been interrupted she might have known what those lips tasted like. She was sure that was what his intention had been from the way he was looking at her.  
  
A flush rose up her cheeks. It was not she had never been kissed before but those pecks stolen by the court dandies back home were hardly called a real kiss. She certainly didn't feel anything wonderful the way Lita and Mina described it. Rather she felt a bit disgusted at the feeling of their saliva on her face. Yet somehow she knew that it would be different with her rescuer.  
  
She thought of him as her rescuer, because she refused to believe what she had heard. He was NOT the prince. Most probably the prince had been close by and had been spooked by the sudden appearance of newcomers. Yes that was it. The prince was most probably spying on them, that would just be typical of him and then he got caught. She should not have run like that, she should have stayed behind and faced him and given him tongue-lashing that would put Rei to shame, for having the nerve to hide while she and her rescuer fought off those monsters. No, she could not do that, because she could not risk revealing the existence of Sailor Moon.  
  
She was not certain that the Earthlings have even heard of the Sailor Senshi since the concept was old, part of legends. There had not been Sailor Senshi for over hundreds of years now and certainly never a Sailor Moon as far as the records went. Even the records of the Sailor Senshi were not many, aside from folklore of the planetary guardians. Earth, who had cut off its associations with the rest of the planets might not even know much about the senshis. Yet she did not dare to take that risk. She could not risk them finding out and maybe sending her back as a gesture of good faith and upholding the Treaty. So she had to keep up her charade for as long as possible. At least until she found another solution or her mother changed her mind.  
  
First thing she needed to do was to get back to her horse, ditch the disguise and find the prince and his party. She just hoped that the stupid horse was still where she had hidden him and not spooked up again like earlier.  
  
Sailor Moon pushed herself away from the trunk and started heading back towards her horse. As she walked with ease and stealth that her powers gave her, she tried to make a mental picture of exactly which route she had taken since she got separated from the others. Not realizing she had made a wrong turn she pushed her way through a group of bushes, looked ahead and stopped dead.  
  
In front of her was a small clearing. There was a dark cave on the right with thick moss and vine covering most of the opening. She noticed the smell of something foul and not all came from the swamp-like pond to the left. Bones were scattered on the ground, small as well as big ones, some belonging to animals and some looked strangely humanlike. Yet that was not the sight which unnerved her the most. It was the large group of small monsters that greeted her, some on the ground, more hanging down from the many branches above and at the guttural cry from one of them even more poured out of the cave.  
  
Her hands whipped straight up towards her tiara even as she took a hesitant step backwards. But deep in her heart she knew it was too late for that. Damn, why couldn't she have paid more attention to where she was headed?  
  
Ever since she was discovered to have the same planetary powers as her friends three years back, she had been put through the same hard training as the rest of them. She started much later than them however and as she fought, Sailor Moon realized that the lack of training just might make a difference. Her arms were aching and her breathing was turning shallow and fast as she fought to keep up with the horde that were coming towards her.  
  
Goddess what she would not do to have her friends with her now. The five of them would have kicked these monsters' ass with their combined powers.  
  
Sailor Moon backed up once again as another swarm attacked her, her legs gave up from underneath her and she fell down on the hard ground. She lost her concentration and missed her timing; the tiara grazed her fingers and landed a few feet away on the ground. She lunged for the tiara even as she sensed someone launching towards her back. From the close sound, she knew she was not going to make it, but she refused to give up and reached for her weapon even as she stiffened her back and prepared herself for the pain that would come.  
  
"Deep Submerge." A musical voice carried from out of nowhere and water came flying towards the creature. The great amount of water increased as it moved and swallowed the group of trolls, clearing a wide path as it moved forward. Gurgling sound could be heard coming from the mass of water as the trolls caught inside drowned.  
  
"World Shaking." Another voice deeper sounding joined the first and a golden light appeared from Sailor Moons right side. A globe seemed to hang at the front of the light and as it moved, the very ground seemed to shake. Trolls that were caught in the golden light either exploded or were crushed as the power pushed a group together by its force.  
  
Sailor Moon stared with fascinated horror as together the green water form and the golden globe of light moved through the clearing and killed the tribe of trolls that she had stumbled across. She was not new to power, being around friends that could call upon elements such as water, fire, lightning and light tended to make one used to things like that, but she had never in her life seen this kind of destruction.  
  
The place was cleared within a short amount of time. All that was left were the lifeless bodies of dead trolls and two women dressed in sailor suits similar to the one she wore. They were both tall, much taller than her even if they had not worn those heels. One was blonde, her hair short and much like a guy's except that there was nothing manly about her. The other a bit shorter had green hair, shoulder length and curly. She looked really beautiful, not that the blonde one looked ugly but there was something very graceful about the green-haired one. They were standing on large boulder and looking down at her.  
  
There was a deadly quiet, even the forest seemed to have gone silent.  
  
"If you don't want those men to find you I suggest that you start moving." The blonde said with a throaty voice, breaking the silence.  
  
"Who are you?" Sailor Moon asked with awe.  
  
One blonde brow arched up. "Are you sure you want to waste time asking questions? You have about five minutes before they come crashing down here to find out what happened." She answered dryly and nodded her head in the direction where Sailor Moon had come earlier, "I'm sure they would love to hear the explanation you give them."  
  
Sailor Moon turned her head in the direction the blonde had pointed, when she turned her head back she could only blink and move her mouth wordlessly. The pair was gone. From behind her she could hear the distant sound of riders approaching fast, reminding her of the fact that she did not have time to linger around wondering.  
  
Grabbing hold of her tiara she hurriedly left also.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
High above, standing at ease on a pair of branches two women watched the blue-white sailor clad girl run away.  
  
"Tell me again why I agreed to take on this job?" The blonde one said to her companion.  
  
Turning her head to look at her lover as well as best friend, the green- haired woman smiled, "Because, Haruka. We owe her that much and more. Besides, it wasn't as if we had made any other special plans. This is just as good as any way of making a new life for ourselves."  
  
Haruka sighed. "There are plenty of things we could be doing like enjoying ourselves."  
  
Michiru did not say anything and Haruka did not expect her to either. They both knew that despite Haruka's complaints she would stick to this job, they both would, because they could not do anything else. They owed it to the person who had asked them. They owed their lives to her and if guarding the princess Serenity was the only way they could pay her back for that then that is what they would do.  
  
"Come on lets head for the castle. Time to make our living." Haruka signaled to Michiru and after she nodded her head they started to jump from tree to tree with an agility that was both beautiful as well as frightening.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
A week after the excursion, Usagi was standing in a small courtyard on the training guard. She was wearing a white shirt and gray pants just like the other twenty people there, but that was the only thing she had in common with them. While each boy wore eager, indifferent or even frightened looks as they stared at the instructors in front of them, she wore a sullen one.  
  
Nothing had gone well since the riding adventure last week, the prince was being even more rude to her, having shouted at her for taking off, as if she had had any choice in the matter. Was it her fault that her mount when nuts and decided to bolt? According to the Prince, yes it was and to make matters worse, he decided that she needed to learn how to fight, and so put her on military training along with the other young recruits. The man was mad! Purely insane! Did he even have any idea about what these monsters put them through? After last week's training she had barely been able to move without groaning in pain for three days and on top of that he decided to make her training a daily ritual.  
  
The only good thing this change had brought was the fact that she no longer needed to carry out that many of his errands. Though she would have liked the opportunity to be close to him if only to stick something sharp into that sadistic heart of his. No, there was absolutely no way could he be the man that rescued her.  
  
"Alright troops, we just got a group of new recruits." Captain Feeney called out with his booming voice.  
  
Like everyone else, Usagi quickly pulled herself up and focused her attention onto the captain. One only made the mistake of not listening to the captain the first time. The punishment he dealt out made that a lesson everyone remembered.  
  
The captain introduced the boys only with their first names and then told them to take a place among Usagi's group, who lined up in front of the captain. There were six of them altogether and some looked younger than she even was, she found herself wondering whatever possessed these boys to decide to become recruits and willingly put themselves in the hand of the Demon. That was the nickname that Usagi secretly called captain Feeney.  
  
One boy caught her attention, maybe it was because he seemed older than all of them. He was tall, maybe not the tallest in the group and a little on the slim side. His hair was wheat blonde and he had pale brown eyes that looked nearly golden in the sunlight. His was quite handsome and as he came to stand on the right, one row ahead of Usagi, she noticed that he had the most incredibly long lashes she had ever seen on a guy. What was his name again? Oh yes, Alex. It was a nice name, much easier to remember than some of the weirder names she had come across there. And he did not look so bad either.  
  
Usagi felt a giggle bubble up inside her throat at the thought and she had a hard time controlling it. She wished the girls were here with her now. She was sure they would agree with her on that.  
  
Just then Alex turned slightly and their eyes met and locked. For a moment there Usagi felt something click in her head, something familiar and then it was gone as Alex broke eye contact with her. She did not get a chance to pay much attention to it though as captain Feeney started speaking.  
  
"Alright troops since we have some new people around. Let's say we start off welcoming them with a nice warm up? How about two rounds around the Pit?"  
  
There was a chorus of groans coming from different directions; Usagi's was one of them. Captain Feeney did not seem to pay that much mind to it, at least that was what they thought until he said absent mindedly, "What two rounds is not enough? Very well then, make it five."  
  
They learned their lesson and nobody made the slightest sound of protest. The courtyard had never been quieter. Captain Feeney waited for a while and when he was satisfied that none of them was going to complain, he signaled for them to move out.  
  
They ran in a double file to another part of the castle. The Pit as captain Feeney called it was a maze of contraptions the size of a ballroom. One had to move from one side to the other doing everything from climbing, lying on the ground and moving forward with your elbows, swinging, jumping through holes, hanging on a rope and at the same time moving forward with the help of your arms and legs; the list went on. The worst part was not getting yourself from one end to another but what happened when you failed doing some of those obstacles. Captain Feeney had provided some very nice incentives to make sure you were fast and that you did not fail.  
  
Alex, who happened to be paired right next to Usagi, took one look at the pit and murmured softly, "He's sure got a twisted sense of humor."  
  
Fortunately for him Feeney was too busy yelling out orders to catch it. Usagi however gave him a friendly smile, she did not dare to make any kind of sound. With her luck prince Idiot probably asked the captain to pay special attention to her and she definitely didn't want to do the pit from sunup to sundown.  
  
Alex looked at her for a while and then a reluctant smile tugged at his lips also. "Oh well might as well get to work. Don't want the old geezer to get off on our misery and have too much fun. I don't think his body will be able to handle too much enjoyment."  
  
The line started to move as the recruits began to enter the pit. As they passed by captain Feeney, the older man called out, "Alex make sure you do this fast. Since you got two rounds more than the others I don't want you to lag behind."  
  
To Usagi's admiration, Alex only shrugged his shoulder and picked up his pace. She tried valiantly to keep her face straight, but as she jogged along a pond of stinking mud, Usagi found herself grinning from ear to ear.  
  
Maybe training was not so bad after all. At least she did not have to be in the same company as the prince and who knows, maybe she'll turn out strong enough to even beat Lita in hand to hand combat? Wouldn't that surprise her friends? 


	10. Chapter 8: First love

8. First love  
  
  
  
Mina woke up with a splitting headache. It felt like someone was trying to squeeze her brain into a tiny box with spikes on the inside. Her eyelids seemed to be glued together and it required a lot of effort before she was able to open them, even then they threatened to close back. She blinked several times trying to focus on the ceiling but sleep was clinging to her like spider webs. She lifted her hand to rub her eyes and immediately regretted her action as the movement brought a fresh wave of pain through her head; it felt as if nails were being driven into her skull with a vicious intensity.  
  
Mina closed her eyes and groaned out in pain trying to bury herself deeper into the soft bed, wishing fervently it would swallow her up and take her away from her misery. Yet despite her headache her mind refused to shut down and as she curled herself into a tiny ball she noticed something very strange, a sense of lightness and a freedom in movement.  
  
Moving her arms slowly towards her chest and down to her stomach she touched warm flesh, a quick check on the rest of her body told her that she was not wearing her customary night gown. Her headache momentarily forgotten at this sudden new discovery, Mina started to notice the strange feeling of the bed she was lying on, it felt different from her own. Rubbing the silken sheets covering her body with her fingers she noted the different texture it had, not to mention the smell, lilac. That was not the fragrance normally accustomed with her bedclothing. It took a moment before her mind wrapped around all the information and the truth dawned on her.  
  
Her eyes widened in shock and Mina flew up to a sitting position, of course the sudden movement didn't come without penalties, a heartbeat later she was cradling her head between her hands, praying to the Goddess as well as all the good sprits and even her ancestors to give her a new one. Somebody must have taken pity on her as the pain started to ease up and she was able to risk moving again. Lifting her head ever so slowly Mina peered through her eyes to take her first look at where she had ended up.  
  
The room was dark with the first promises of daylight streaming through the shuttered windows. It was not very large, about half the size of her room at Lunian Castle but held more furniture than hers did. A golden divan was standing to her right and the bright silver blue silk gown she had worn last night was flung over it, pooling down to cover the tiled floor along with the thick Marsian carpet that was spread underneath the divan. Thin pink linen curtains fluttered gently along the window by the early morning breeze. One white shoe was lying on the side by the broad white door and another was resting on top of a plant. Her undergarments were strewn all over the room.  
  
A breeze passed through the window and Mina shivered from the morning chill. She pulled the cover that had been resting on her thighs up to cover her naked torso, her hands clutching the fabric tight. She shifted slightly, bending her legs to one side, letting the heel rest against the back of her thigh to ward off some of the cold and noticed for the first time the soreness between her legs.  
  
Suddenly an incredulous notion struck her and she stilled like a fly caught in amber. Images from last night started to flash in her mind. He had taken her to attend a party held at the Dancing Nymphs, a new establishment just recently opened to entertain the highborns of Luneir and currently the most popular place on the Moon. Mina was not even sure who had been the host or hostess, for the past few weeks she had attended so many parties the names were all a mixed up in her head. What she did remember was that it had been a great success, the attendants were all young people near her age and there had been a lot of laughing, dancing as well as eating. The food she recalled had been excellent, a lot of new and dishes and even several new exotic drinks had been floating around. Mina remembered drinking from a crystal glass filled with strange blue fluid with smoke coming from it, she had liked it well enough to have a second and maybe even a third refill. Her memories after that were not as sharp, she remembered she had laughed a lot last night, a lot more than she had in months. There was dancing, not just the ordinary ballroom waltz but other kinds of dancing that had sprung from a faster beat of music. The place had been hot, they had taken a stroll outside to get fresh air, there was even a carriage ride and walking up stairs in the darkness. Or had it been dark? She remembered she had seen bright lights but she couldn't for the life of her recall what anything looked like, for example, his face as took her in his arms, kissed her and… Slowly she turned her face and looked at the pillows by the headstand. The one she had just been laying on had a clear impression of her head but to her infinite agitation the large one closest to hers also had an impression, if less visible. Someone had else slept there.  
  
Heat rose up her cheeks as she grasped what had happened the night before. She looked around the room but there was no sign of him anywhere. The sounds from outside were starting to rise, telling her that the citizens of the capital were about to start their day. Her stomach grumbled loudly in protest reminding her that she had needs that could not be fulfilled by staying here; wherever here was. So gritting her teeth against the pain that shot through her head every time she moved, Mina started gathering up her things. It took her nearly a half an hour to dress, partly because she did not have a servant around to help her with the laces at the back of her undergarments and partly because she was missing several buttons. She found two in the folds of her dress but they were not hers, this brought fresh color of embarrassment to her cheeks. In the end she decided to just throw her cloak around her, as long as she stayed covered under the blue silk, and kept the opening closed with her hands nobody would see the state of her dress.  
  
Fortunately for her the hallway was empty when she left the bedroom. As she walked through it, her head still pounding, she found at least a dozen or so rooms similar to the one she had exited. Some were empty, some were not. As she passed the last door in the hallway leading to the stairs, Mina heard the distinctive sound of a woman whimpering and crying out in pleasure closely followed by a masculine groan. She wondered if she had sounded like that last night, bits and pieces of memories as well as the state of her clothes told her that their lovemaking had not exactly been tepid, she blushed so deeply at the idea she thought her face would burn off. Hurrying her steps Mina quickly left the building.  
  
Her luck seemed to be holding out when she found her carriage waiting patiently by the corner on the opposite side of the street. Pulling up the hood of her cloak, hiding her face deep within it, Mina moved forward with determined strides, each step bringing another blow of torture to her head.  
  
The driver was waiting patiently and alert by his seat looking fresh and completely rested, Mina hated him for that. Still, she was grateful for his presence when he jumped down to help her up into the carriage and even more so when he did not ask any questions. She doubted that she had enough energy to get inside without making a complete fool of herself by falling down on the street, much less have a conversation with him. Not that he would ever demand anything, that was one advantage of having servants that had not watched you grow up. They did not see you as the child they had helped to raise and therefore didn't think that they'd be excused for treating you like one. Mina herself had chosen Galain, as he was called, a few months back to be her designated driver and thus his loyalty was to her, first and foremost.  
  
"To the castle, Galain." Mina informed once she was settled comfortably. She kept her face impassive and fervently hoped that that her head would not fall off like it threatened to do as a result of her order.  
  
"As you wish, my lady." Galain said and clicked the horses into motion.  
  
Mina didn't know if it was simply because of the misery she was feeling, but the ride from Canal Lane, where she seemed to have ended up instead of High Ganeir where she started last night, to the Castle seemed to take far longer than usual. The light hurt her eyes, despite the fact that she had pulled the curtains down over the carriage windows. Every sound, every movement seemed to grate at her nerves, making her want to curl up and do nothing but feel sorry for herself. And it seemed to her that there was a lot of traffic for so early in the morning. Did people have nothing better to do than to wake up early?  
  
After what appeared to be an eternity the carriage finally stopped in front of the grand steps leading up to Lunar Castle. The moment a footman helped her down from the carriage, she shot off like an arrow straight for her quarters. Servants and guards up and about made quick, respectful curtsies and salutes to her as she passed but she didn't have time to give them back her usual warm greeting. To tell the truth, her vision was slightly blurry and she would not have been able to recognize them even though she knew their faces by heart.  
  
The moment Mina reached her quarters she locked the door and bolted straight for the bathroom where she emptied her stomach. Nausea rolled over her and she didn't know how long she hung over the porcelain seat, it felt like an eternity which in itself did not feel quite long enough. As her senses started to return she noticed a knocking on the door.  
  
"Your Highness, your Highness!" It was her personal maid Aisha, calling through the door. Mina would have ignored her if she hadn't heard the urgency and worry in her voice.  
  
"Yes, Aisha?" At least she didn't sound as shaky as she thought she would have. What was that disgusting sour taste in her mouth? It was almost metallic.  
  
"I'm sorry to disturb you this early your Highness, but the Queen has asked for your presence." There was a moment of silence and then her voice said hesitantly, "Shall I tell her you're indisposed?"  
  
Despite her misery, Mina could not hide a smile. Bless Aisha for her loyalty. No one denied the Queen, especially in her own castle, yet that was exactly what the maid was offering to do, and that felt comforting. It was more because of her genuine fondness towards the slight girl, rather than any wish to follow her aunt's demands that Mina said, "No, inform my aunt that I will be with her the moment I have freshened up."  
  
"Yes, your Highness. Are you sure you are well? Shall I call for one of the physicians?" Aisha inquired tentatively.  
  
"No there's no need for that. I'm fine." Mina said with a beat red face.  
  
The last thing she needed was a physician to examine her and find out just exactly what had occurred last night. In truth she was sixteen and considered old enough to make some decisions for herself, both Venus and Moon considered sexual intercourse with less restriction than the other planets. There were certainly no laws like the ones Mars and Saturn had, where young women were prohibited from having until they came of age or like on Pluto, where the women had to be married. But law and reality were two different things, if Mina's father ever found out, he would fly through the roof. King Trevor still thought Mina as his baby girl, his first born that ran around with two pigtails and begged him for presents with her big baby blue eyes.  
  
Mina could see the exact stages he would go through, apoplectic seizure, shouting, screaming and then he would hunt down the guy and disembowel him. That was not at all desirable, since Mina was quite fond of the person in question, though she was a bit put out by the fact that he didn't even have the courtesy to wait until she woke up before leaving. Well she'd deal with him later, first she needed to see her aunt and find out whatever she had done wrong this time to displease her. The Queen was usually closeted with her advisors for morning meetings at this time, so the only reason Mina could think of as to why her aunt wanted to see her was because she was in trouble, again.  
  
Rising up, Mina quickly washed her face and donned herself in a pink gown, one that was more suited for the day, and headed for the Sun Room. It was where the Queen usually conducted her meetings during the mornings, slightly more formal than her study but less than the Throne Room.  
  
As she walked through the long grand marble hallways, Mina thought back to the past months and her relationship with her aunt. She could not say that things had gone very well since her friends left for their separate destinations. True to her words, Queen Selenity kept a personally eye on all of Mina's education, aside from her combat training of which Artemis, having been sent back from Jupiter, was in charge of. Mina was to read up on the history of Moon and that included the Kings and Queens that had ruled since what seemed like the dawn of time, as well as the commerce part. Mina never knew why it was so necessary; numbers had never been her strong point, that was Ami's department. Even if she would one day become the Queen of Venus, counsellors and diplomats would take care of that, it was what they were paid to do.  
  
In a personal point of view, her aunt paid too much attention to everything, she wanted to know anything there was to know about her Kingdom. No single human could do that, hence advisors. There is not enough time to know everything, even if she only took a few hours sleep everyday. No wonder she was always so agitated. She had no life, and now she was trying to do the same to Mina.  
  
There were a few bonuses though, Mina really didn't mind the parties and soirées she had to attend due to her new responsibilities. Thanks to those gatherings she had, in the last few weeks, made a large group of new friends, friends who remembered her and who had time for her. Before, her life had mainly consisted of Rei, Usagi, Lita, Ami and their training. She never knew the Moon had such a fascinating life outside the castle walls. The nobles she had gotten to know, mostly around her age or slightly older, were showing her a completely new world. It was a different kind of fun than what she had with her childhood friends. She felt as if she was taking her first steps into adulthood.  
  
Mina stopped in front of the twin stout doors of the Sun Room. She composed her face and straightened her back. Holding her head up proudly she reached out and knocked.  
  
"Enter." She was surprised at hearing Selenity calling out instead of having it opened by a squire, but she kept that from showing when she entered the room.  
  
It was called the Sun Room for a reason. Extended out like an arm from the second floor, it was built in a near circular form with surrounding windows at the top that let sunlight through all day. Just then however, Mina could not feel any warmth touching her. The room felt like the coldest day in Mercury.  
  
"Glad you could finally join me, Minako."  
  
She was angry or she would never call Mina by her full name. "I came as soon as I could."  
  
"Did you have fun last night?" Selenity inquired.  
  
Heat rose up Mina's cheek and not all was from embarrassment. "I was under the impression that what I do in the evening was not something I needed to ask permission for."  
  
"Certainly, you are sixteen and by the laws of your planet old enough to be considered a young adult. I just hope whatever it was that you did was worth the price thousands of innocents now have to pay." Selenity told her calmly and finally turning to look at her.  
  
Mina flinched at the full anger in her eyes, but with her own anger rising she retorted, "I'm sorry I wasn't aware that going to a party was a capital offence."  
  
Silver eyes narrowed, "Do not use that tone with me, Minako I would be very careful if I were you. I would not push my luck." Selenity said with a dangerous undertone.  
  
Mina's chin lifted in defiance. "Or what? Throw me out? Send me back home? You might be able to do that, your Majesty but whether I stay here or not, I will always be Sailor Venus. You do not make that choice. The Gods made that choice. You might have been able to scare the others with that threat, but I'm not so easy. Not anymore."  
  
"Now you listen to me young-"  
  
"No you listen!" Mina interrupted her, blue eyes flashing with anger and a temper that had been banked down for months coming up to full life. "I'm sick and tired of you ordering me around as if I was your lowest servant. You treat the maids around here with more respect than me and I'm supposed to be your ward even if you want to forget about the niece part. That was what is stated in the treaty signed by the rulers of the inner planets seven hundred years ago." She smiled grimly, "Yes I have paid attention to my readings even if you don't think so. But you don't treat me a like a ward do you? No you just order me around. You take away my best friends and refuse to let us have any contact with each other. I've done nothing to deserve this! All that I did was to protect Usagi, what I was sworn to do. Your daughter, the girl that you abandoned on the soils of –"  
  
"ENOUGH!"  
  
The command was sharp and stung like a whip. Mina stopped her tirade but her eyes were still hot and she refused to back down. She knew that she was right this time and she was sick and tired of being told to do things without any sort of explanation and then being reprimanded when she did things wrong because she was given no prior warning. It was just not fair and she was not going to take it anymore.  
  
"Now I do not have the time, nor am I in the mood to take your temper tantrum. Despite what you might think, you are nothing but a child." Selenity told her with a cold voice. "A child playing a dangerous game in the world of adults. You think you know everything, hmm? Well let me show you exactly how wrong you are."  
  
She threw something at Mina and it was only by instinct Mina reacted and caught it before it connected with her face. Tearing her eyes away from her aunt's, the woman really could stare like a hawk, she looked down at the scroll that she held. Rolling out the papers, she read the contents.  
  
It was a report, a long list of reports. Prices of grains for the past few hours not just on the Moon, but all the inner planets as well as some of the outer; locus attacks on the last crops that were not harvested and pirate attacks on those that were being transported.  
  
The wind under her sails disappeared and Mina said with confusion. "I don't understand. How...? What happened?"  
  
"Isn't it obvious? From the indication of the prices, there's obviously shortage of food. That's what."  
  
"That's impossible! Sure the crops were not that good last year but the weather has been good and the reports of the harvest this year were positive. There's plenty in the granaries, even if this disaster struck the entire harvest."  
  
"True, but all the buffer stocks have been bought up." Selenity told her with a steady look. Despite her anger she was glad to see the quick mind Mina was showing. There might still be hope for her, even if it was too late to do anything to prevent this disaster.  
  
"Bought up? Already? How can that be possible?"  
  
"It seems someone has been secretly signing contracts with the large Commerce Houses and bought them in the past month. People are fighting over what's left."  
  
Mina looked at her aunt with disbelief and then a horrible thought struck her. "What about the plans for Saturn?" She asked. "We already signed a contract with their Council."  
  
Selenity gave her a look that seemed to say, so-your-finally-getting-it. "The contract said five million Lunarian gold's worth of food aid would be given to them."  
  
"But that's just ridiculous. Five million with the prices their charging now won't be able to buy enough to feed a town much less a whole planet!" Mina said with outrage.  
  
For the first time since she entered the room, Selenity showed regret on her face. "I know, it took months just to raise that much. Unfortunately I will not be able to get more."  
  
"What do you mean you can't get more?" Mina demanded and took a step forward. "You're the Queen for Goddess's sake. The Royal Vaults must contain more than that."  
  
"You think it's so easy?" Selenity shook her head ruefully. "Oh Minako, you still have so much to learn. Haven't you been listening the past few months? You think it's as simple that," she said snapping her fingers. She shook her head while she moved towards the oval shaped table in the center, things cluttered it indicating that a meeting had been held recently.  
  
Putting her hands on the back of a chair she turned again to Mina, "I may be the Queen but I'm not omnipotent. I, just like you have people to answer to too. A mistake can easily cost me the throne, if not worse. This mistake will cost, I just hope it stays minimal." The last words were said with sadness. For a moment there her blue eyes clouded over as if she was seeing something in the distance.  
  
"I don't understand." Mina said slowly. She was confused, this was the first time she had ever seen the Queen like this. The confession she had just made did not make any sense, just who was she answerable to? She was the Queen of the Moon; even the monarchs of the other planets had to bow to her, who else had the power to equal hers?  
  
"No you obviously don't, my mistake was thinking that you might. I had hoped that having you study history of the Moon as well as attending the social gatherings you might have understand how some things work, but I guess I was wrong and letting you in on the Saturn plan was biggest mistake of it all."  
  
Mina's back stiffened visibly. "Are you accusing me being responsible for all of this?"  
  
Selenity looked at her calmly. "Maybe not directly but yes, indirectly you are the cause of it. I've given this a lot of thought since I received the news midnight last night. Everything seemed too coincidental to be coincidence. With the forecasted bumper crops this year, we were expecting a surplus in supply. We were supposed to buy up those extra grains for Saturn as food aid at the current market price, keeping prices stable because we would be keeping output and consumption equal. But now that they've been bought, they can be sold at any price, not to mention there is now a shortage. Do you know what that means?"  
  
"The economy will be in an uproar and those holding the goods will make a fortune." A chill overtook her body, numbing her to her very bones. It was such a simple plan but with consequences that would affect so many people's lives.  
  
"Only a few handful of people knew of this treaty. I doubt that any of the Council Three of Saturn will breath a word of it considering the precautious state they are in, a false move like this would cost them their lives, not just their position. And only four people here aside from me knew of the plan: Luna, Artemis, Helios and…"  
  
"And me." Mina whispered, finishing the sentence for her. She could not believe what she was hearing.  
  
Selenity studied her face carefully and said gravely, "I hope for your sake that he was worth it. If we're lucky it will just mean severe hyperinflation and a slump in economy but if the Gods favor us wrongly we might have a war on our hands."  
  
Mina stared at her aunt unable to believe the accusation she hurled out. Though Selenity did not mention any names they both knew whom she was referring to. The man that Mina had been spending nearly all of her free moments with for the past couple of months, the same man whom Mina confided her thoughts to, including Selenity's plans of using Lunarian gold to help the new rulers of Saturn to quench the last of the rebellion and bring some order into the divided planets.  
  
Mina opened her mouth to speak, to deny the accusation but to her surprise no words came out. Somehow a seed of doubt has been planted inside her heart and Mina could not stop listening to the whispering voice. It infuriated her even more when Selenity only looked at her and nodded her head as if having expected that.  
  
Before either could say anything there was another knock on the door. A guard opened and announced the arrival of the advisors that Selenity had requested. Selenity told him to wait a few minutes and then escort them in.  
  
Once they were alone again she said, "I am not going to ask you any questions you are not ready to answer. But I do hope that after you've had time to recover from your hangover you can find some answers for me. Now if you'll excuse me I need to do some damage control."  
  
Having been dismissed Mina left the Sun Room. A group of people was standing outside and Mina recognized all their faces. It seemed the Queen found this situation grave enough to ask all her advisors to attend and from the looks of them, they were worried too. Some of them eyed her suspiciously. She cast them half-hearted smiles before she swept past and disappeared down the hallway.  
  
With determined steps, Mina headed straight for the stables. A groom hurriedly came out to assist her but she waved the kid away with a hand. She needed to get to her destination fast and did not have time to waste waiting for him to put on the right saddle and such. She led out her mare and without hesitation, she ripped the side of her skirt all the way to her thigh and swung herself up on the back of the horse. Heeling her mare into a hard gallop Mina shot out of the stable like an arrow.  
  
Once she was outside of the castle she was forced to slow down due to the traffic. It seemed there had been a reason for the long trip back that morning. Most people were by now aware of what had happened and they were fighting to buy food and stock supplies. In several places fights started and guards were moving out to separate the masses. Mina tried not to look too closely but she could not block out the noises or the sounds of people crying out in pain as they got hurt one way or another. Each sound slashed at her like a razor sharp knife.  
  
No, there had to be another explanation. She just would not believe that he was behind all of this. She could just not be that wrong about him. It was not possible.  
  
As Mina rode her horse through the city heading for the countryside, she let her mind wander and thought back to the past and how everything had started.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
"Come on Lita, why don't you take a break from all of this? We'll go out shopping or go hunting if you want. You need to get away from these confining walls." Mina told her friend with a pleading look.  
  
The two of them were taking a walk around the lush garden of the royal palace in Juneir. It was still early enough so that most of the guests were still asleep, leaving the garden to the two of them.  
  
"Mina, for the hundredth time I haven't got time for it. There's still a lot to do, a lot of preparation that needs to be done before…" Lita lost her voice and she closed her eyes and took a deep breath trying to fight for control.  
  
Mina's heart broke as she saw her friend's pain and she reached out to comfort her. "Its alright Lita. I'm here for you, so is everybody else you aren't alone in this. Come you need to take a break, everything is seen to and prepared for the funeral this afternoon and," she added when the taller woman opened her mouth to voice a protest, "there are plenty of people to take care of things even if something should come up. So slow down and just take a breather."  
  
Lord knows she needed one. From what Mina had heard from the report Artemis had given to her and Selenity three nights ago when they arrived with the shuttle, Lita had not had a full nights rest since she came back home.  
  
"The girl is like a whirlwind moving from one place to another. If she's not training, then she's questioning the suspects or closeted with her chief of security making plans and when she's not doing that she's locked away in meetings with advisors. The only time I've seen her sit down is during meals and even then she only picks at her food and bounces off less than ten minutes later."  
  
That was how Artemis had described her and in the past few days observing her friend up close, Mina knew it was the truth and it worried her. She knew Lita was trying to keep her mind busy and her body too tired to feel the pain. But it was not healthy and sooner or later she would collapse from exhaustion. Today would be even worse, it was the official funeral of King Gregor and Queen Magda and though Lita might have been able to push off the pain before, Mina knew that once she faced her parents in the cathedral for the last time, there'd be no escape. So Mina did the only thing she could do, she tried to ease her friend's tension before she cracked at the inevitable meeting. As proud as she was, Mina knew that Lita would never forgive herself if she did something so disgraceful in front of everybody. That was why she had twisted Lita's arm and persuaded her to take a walk with her in the garden. Now if she could just manage to convince her to leave the walls of the palace.  
  
"It's a beautiful day today. Why don't you come with me to town? It will give us time to spend together, Goddess knows you and I haven't had much time for that since I arrived and a little change of scenery might do you wonders. I could use the help in choosing what fabrics to make my new dresses out of. Should I go for bold colors this season or pale? I like the new electric blue one but do you think it might be a bit too much? You know I really wish I had darker colorings, it's so much easier to choose dresses. Dark goes with everything. I really envy you and –"  
  
"Envy me? Envy what?! Tell me Mina, which part of me is it that you envy? My new wardrobe? My new status? Or the fact that my parents are DEAD?" Lita demanded cutting her off.  
  
Mina flinched at the last one, feeling as if she had been physically attacked yet before she could speak Lita barreled on.  
  
"Well I tell you what, you can have it all. Do you think this is fun for me? I don't enjoy any of this and I'm sorry if I can't make the time to spend with you but I have a lot more important things on my mind than stupid fashion trends. Maybe if you would grow up and started thinking about someone else aside from your own needs you would realize that too, so now if you'll excuse me I have a Kingdom to run." With those departing words Lita turned and hurriedly strode away before she said more things she would later regret.  
  
Mina was too shocked to do anything but watch her departing back, she opened her mouth and no words came out. In the end she closed her gaping mouth with a loud click and whirled around angrily to walk to the other way, heading deeper in to the garden.  
  
She was NOT a selfish person, Lita knew that. How could she even say those hurtful words to her? She was only trying to help her out. It was true Mina knew nothing of what her friend was going through, her parents were alive while Lita's were dead, but she was trying her best. She was trying to relate to her in the only way she knew how. So why did she have to say those hurtful things to her? Is that really how she perceived her? A selfish immature girl interested in nothing but clothes?  
  
"You know there are a lot of ways to vent anger without destroying beauty in the process." A voice said calmly startling her enough to make her climb into the air.  
  
Mina whirled around and to face the speaker and tell him to mind his own business, but the words froze on her lips when she saw who it was. Standing further down the path was a tall man with long pale blonde, nearly silver, hair that reached just below his neck. His shoulders were broad, filling out the blue coat he was wearing naturally, i.e. without padding. As he walked towards her, the morning sunlight casting a halo around him, he looked like a vision straight out of a picture. Mina felt her heart make a double flip, the way it had done when she had first seen him arrive on the large shuttle from Earth, the same day she did. The man was absolutely gorgeous, with that strange silver hair of his and his smoky gray eyes. He may not have been the best looking man at court so far, since a lot of people had arrived from all the planets to attend the funeral, but with the charismatic air he seemed to carry with him he was certainly was the most noticed one.  
  
Yet at the moment Mina was not overly thrilled at seeing him, her fight with Lita was still too fresh and the anger she was feeling had not yet subsided. "Lord Kunzite." Mina greeted him with a formal curtsy.  
  
"Your highness." Kunzite made a graceful bow that made hers look clumsy.  
  
It annoyed her slightly, because she prided herself in being known as the most graceful creature in the solar system.  
  
Kunzite stopped beside Mina but his eyes were on the bushes. "Pity. Beauty like that is so vulnerable and easy to hurt with just the slightest thoughtless action." He murmured.  
  
Where lovely roses had blossomed from the bushes earlier, there were now only a handful left that clung on bravely. Pale rose petals lay scattered on the paved ground. Looking at her hand where she was clutching a short stick, Mina felt heat rise up her cheeks as she realized that in her anger, she had been hitting the bushes, she quickly dropped the stick to the ground.  
  
"I know your friend hurt you with her words. But don't you think destroying something just to vent your anger is a bit petty?" Kunzite turned to her, his silver eyes solemn.  
  
Embarrassment and guilt ate at her. Embarrassment because he had caught her in such a juvenile act and guilt because she knew queen Magda had helped plant these rosebushes and loved them. Through those feelings anger was born and she turned them towards the most available target.  
  
Lifting her chin, her eyes turning chilly she said with her most haughty tone. "Who are you to speak about childish actions? I suppose eavesdropping on people's conversations is a very mature thing to do?"  
  
The moment the words left her mouth, Mina wished she had not spoken, insulting the ambassador of Earth is not the most diplomatic thing to do especially since the peace treaty between the Alliance and Earth was still so tenuous.  
  
To her surprise however Kunzite does not seemed to have taken offense, instead amusement lit his eyes as he said, "I'm afraid you have misunderstood me, I only expressed my apologies as seeing beauty wasted like that. As for me listening on your conversation, I was not aware that this was a private garden, it was not my intention to listen but when the two of you didn't bother to lower your voices I only assumed you didn't care."  
  
Mina sniffed and muttered under her breath. "A real gentleman would have had the decency to keep his ears shut."  
  
"Most probably." Kunzite agreed blithely, "and I'm sure you don't need me to tell you about the proper behavior of a lady."  
  
He laughed at the baleful look she cast him even as embarrassed heat rose up her cheek.  
  
"As an ambassador you certainly are not giving a very good impression of your people at the moment, Lord Kunzite." Mina told him acidly. "Tell me are all Earthling as rude as you or do you just happen to be an exception?"  
  
"It depends," Kunzite crossed his arms over his broad chest, "are all young women from Venus as immature and self-centered as you or are you just an exception?" His eyes turned harder and colder, making her shiver.  
  
Mina tried to say something nasty but no words would come through her lips, instead to her utter mortification, she felt her eyes start to sting. Through blurry vision she saw the silver haired man loose some of the hardness on his face as he looked at her. He opened his mouth to say something but Mina never had the chance to find out what it was as just then a feminine voice called out.  
  
"There you are, love. I've been looking everywhere for you, I thought you were going to wait for me and take a stroll together?"  
  
From around the corner a stunning looking woman with thick curly dark hair came strolling down. The golden threads sewn on her copper silk dress was meant to catch the eye and with the sunlight streaming down on her she looked like a vision, everything around her paling in comparison. Her lavender eyes were only for Kunzite as was the smile she wore on her full lush lips.  
  
"I was not sure you would've wanted to take a stroll so early in the morning Cleo, you had a late night with the ladies and I figured you would try to catch up on some sleep." Kunzite turned to her with a smile. He took the hand she offered to her and kissed the top.  
  
"Really love, I'm only in my early twenties. If I start feeling tired already how would I ever be able to keep up with you for the rest of my life?" Cleo told him with a laugh.  
  
Since it was obvious the two lovers were totally engrossed with each other, Mina took the opportunity to disappear. The movement however caught Cleo's eyes and she looked in her direction. A slender girl, pretty and who would no doubt turn into a beauty once she reached full bloom. Lovely golden hair and dreamy blue eyes that at the moment looked like they were at the brink of crying.  
  
"Love aren't you going to introduce me to your little friend?" She asked, neither her face nor voice betraying the gnawing jealousy she was feeling. She had known from the very beginning that being together with someone like Kunzite was not going to be easy, a man with his looks, build and position was bound to attract the interest of a lot of women, but it was the price she would pay for loving him. As long as she knew he did not have feelings for those women she could tolerate it.  
  
"Cleo, meet princess Minako of Venus. Your highness allow me to introduce my fiancée, lady Cleo of Winsburn."  
  
"It's a pleasure meeting you, lady Cleo. Despite the sad occasion, I hope you will enjoy your stay on Jupiter." Mina told the older woman after the two of them had acknowledged each other with a small curtsy. "Maybe we will have opportunity later to get to know each other, unfortunately I have some pressing matters that I need to attend to so if you will excuse me."  
  
Not waiting for a reply on their part, Mina turned and walked away.  
  
From behind, Kunzite watched the disappearing back of Mina with mixed emotions, part of him wanted to run after her if only to apologize for the harsh words he had said to her. He had not realized they were so cruel until he had seen her reactions. It had made him feel like the lowest scum of the earth, like he had kicked a puppy. He hated seeing women crying and what was even worse was knowing that he was the cause of those tears, it reminded him too much of his own father and older brother.  
  
He supposed he might not have acted that badly towards her if he had not seen the broken look on princess Lita's face earlier as she ran past him. All he had wanted was to make the blonde princess see the errors in her ways but as he saw the crushed look on Minako's face he realized, too late, that he had gone too far.  
  
Sighing inwardly, Kunzite decided to leave her be, he would apologize to her later but right now was not the time. She certainly would not appreciate him intruding on her as she cried, which he knew was the reason she had left.  
  
Deciding that the least he could do was to grant her some privacy, Kunzite led Cleo down the opposite path from where the princess had disappeared so that they did not accidentally run into her. From the way she had looked he doubted that she had managed to get far before her control broke.  
  
He was right. Barely twenty feet away just around the corner by an open clearing Mina was sitting on a bench by the fountain crying her heart out. She had tried so hard to keep the tears back but somehow seeing the two Earthlings together, so in love, she had known she was not going to be able to keep it in. So she had excused herself, if rather rudely, and left before she disgraced herself.  
  
Mina knew that it was not just the fight she was crying about but everything about her life. Since the day Usagi disappeared on them it seems her life have taken a turn for the worse, the fight she had with Lita was just one of them. They have fought before but this was different, Mina could sense that Lita was annoyed at her for more than just their last conversation.  
  
Since the assassination, Mina had often wondered if she did the right thing in covering for Usagi. Maybe her aunt was right and the decision she should have made as a leader was not to protect Usagi but to think of the greater picture. If she had not ordered Lita to go to Earth to retrieve Usagi then her friend would have been with her parents, with Sailor Jupiter around the attackers might never have had a chance. Mina could not help to wonder what would have happened if she had made a different decision. Would Gregor and Magda still have been alive? Was Lita thinking the same thing? Was that why she had been avoiding Mina since her arrival? Were Ami and Rei thinking like that too?  
  
Ami she could not be sure of, but she knew Rei was definitely avoiding her. Ever since she had felt that intense pain in her mind a few weeks back, having been knocked unconscious by the force of it, Mina had not been able to sense Rei at all. Of the five of them, she and Rei had been the closest which created a bond that made them aware of the other's presence, as if a part of one was stored in the back of the other's mind. But since that incident Mina had not been able to feel anything at all. The loss of that presence, the warmth like a fire in her mind, left her feeling cold and empty. She had tried to make contact with Rei but her friend had only sent Luna to take her calls. It had hurt.  
  
It still hurt, Mina had never felt more lonely in her life. Her family was still on a space shuttle on their way to Jupiter but even had they been here right now, Mina doubted that they would care. After all, none of them cared enough to voice out a protest at the punishment Selenity had dealt her, nor had they bothered to contact her since then. Her best friends, her sisters of heart had all abandoned her and the worse part was she was not so sure she did not deserve that. She was the one that had split them because she had not taken her duties more seriously. As Usagi's cousin, she knew her the best; she should have seen it coming and been able to stop her from running away from home. But like Lita had said, she had been too self- centered, her mind already occupied with the fun she would have had once she reached Venus again to bother with Usagi's trivial fears. Now one of them had lost both her parents and the rest of them were being punished in some form or another.  
  
Mina squeezed her eyes shut and tried to will the pain in her heart to go away but it seemed like a void opened wider, making her feel even more empty, cold and lost. She tried to draw a deep calming breath but she only managed to get several short shallow ones through each hiccup and sob. She wrapped her arms around herself trying to keep the coldness she felt at bay, wishing with all her heart the loneliness would go away and somebody would still love her.  
  
As if hearing her prayers, warm hands and strong pair of arms wrapped themselves around her. She felt herself being lifted and gently settled on someone's lap. Her face was gently turned against a broad chest and Mina instinctively buried her face deeper in the supporting shoulder and cried her heart out. Her comforter did not say a word but only wrapped the arms tighter around her and gently stroked her hair.  
  
She did not know how long she cried but in the end her energy was spent and she quieted down. Tears were still trickling, if to a lesser flow down her cheeks. Her mind was starting to work once again and she began to take in her surroundings. The first thing she noticed was the fabric on the man's clothes, he wore a pale blue shirt, the pattern on the matching vest of silver and blue was flowery and very familiar to her, since it was the popular kind that the men on Venus wore. Thinking that it was her father, Mina looked up with brilliant smile only to be surprised when instead of looking up at her father's handsome face, she saw one that was half his age.  
  
The man was as equally handsome as father, but where king Trevor's face has matured and the lines grown stronger making him look more rugged, this man still had a youthful smoothness that made him beautiful rather than handsome. Like her father, he was also blonde, though his hair was a richer hue of gold, as if dipped in sunlight. Mina recognized the man, they had met a few weeks ago back on Moon when Selenity had let her join a small party attended by some of the highest-ranking Houses of Luneir. As often when it came to parties, people sought out other people with whom they had things in common. In their case it was their youth, everyone except them had been at least over thirty.  
  
"Lord Chevaine," Mina whispered with a startled surprise. "I... How…That is… I…"  
  
Caught completely by surprise, Mina did not know what to say. It was true that the two of them had managed to get along very well in a short amount of time at the party, in fact Mina could not remember having been able to make friends with a man so quick, and she had no problems making friends. Yet, getting along with someone quickly and having that person comfort you in this manner were two completely different things.  
  
Suddenly Mina realized that she was still sitting on his lap and practically resting on his chest. Embarrassed heat rose up her cheeks. "I'm so sorry, lord Chevaine. I..." She tried to find the right words to say as she sprang up to her feet.  
  
Chevaine threw back his head and laughed. "Come now, my lady. Don't you think that after this, you can drop the lord Chevaine? Just call me Cheve, and please," he added in a much softer tone and stood up too, "don't apologize and don't especially feel embarrassed. You have nothing to be ashamed of, if anything that rude cur of an Earthling is the one that should feel embarrassed. If anyone should apologize it's him and me."  
  
Embarrassment forgotten for the moment, Mina's brows lifted in surprise. "Apologize, you? But you have nothing to apologize for."  
  
Cheve made a face. "Yes I have, I've acted in the same ungentlemanly fashion as that Earthling. I did not mean to eavesdrop but I must confess hearing such anguish in your voice as it carried to my ears I could not help myself. I did not want to intrude on you and your friend at a moment like that as it seemed rather private, but I felt I could not leave you either. When I heard the way he spoke to you, I wanted to rush to your aid and hit him, but alas I have more than just me to take care of and I feared the repercussion would be much more than my family would be able to pay. After all my family is but an minor House among Mercia."  
  
Mina did not know what made her heart melt more, the way he spoke to her or the way his blue eyes looked upon her. All she knew was that the pain she felt lessened and the coldness was slowly starting to leave her body and was being replaced by warmth. As the warmth returned so did her senses and compassion flowed through her at hearing the bitterness in Cheve's voice. She did not know what brought on this bitterness, but to bring such dark emotions in a person she was sure it was something profound.  
  
Stepping forward, Mina put her hand in his. "Nevertheless, thank you. Thank you for coming after me and lending me a shoulder to cry on. I really needed a friend just then and that was exactly what you were."  
  
She looked up at him, her face earnest and her eyes solemn. Their eyes caught each other and everything came to a standstill. Mina felt her heart skip a beat, she knew from the look in his eyes what he was about to do and yet she did not know why she felt so nervous. As his face came closer, her beating heart became louder until it drowned out the sound of water coming from the fountain and the chirping birds singing above them.  
  
When Mina thought back to this fateful kiss, she would always remember the heavy scent of roses in the air as his lips touched hers and she fell in love for the first time.  
  
Roses seems to also remind him of her, because in the next few months that passed as they both returned to the Moon, he kept sending them her. He never attached a card but everybody knew where they came from. People could not help but notice when the two of them were always seen together on parties and other social functions.  
  
Not everyone was happy about the arrangement though, the queen was one of them, her father another. The first she could not do anything about and the latter was expected. Mina did not care however because Cheve made her happy, with him she felt more alive than she had in a long time. He took her to places she had not been before, social gatherings that she had been too young to attend before and introduced her to a new exciting new world that she had never knew existed, parties, hunting, concerts and exotic foods. She met young high-borns of her age both from the Moon and the other planets and found out a bit more about how they lived their lives. She figured that was what her life probably would have been like had she not had her senshi duties. Through it all she and Cheve grew closer, so close in fact that she was sure he was the one for her, the one she was meant to spend the rest of her life with.  
  
How naive of her.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
"Your Highness, please his lordship is really unavailable at the moment. If you would please come back another time I'm sure –" A distraught servant told Mina as she pushed past him and entered the dining room.  
  
The room was quite small compared to normal standards. Mina had to shield her eyes from the glaring sunlight streaming through the glass walls on one side, before she was able to see him. She stopped in her tracks as she took in the scene in front of her.  
  
Cheve was sitting at the short end of the long dining table but he was not alone. An attractive redhead sat at his right. It was not the presence of the woman that stunned Mina as much as what was occurring. Both Cheve and the woman were leaning towards each other, Cheve was holding her hand, his lips dancing over her flesh in an intimate manner that was hard to be misunderstood.  
  
The pair looked up at the interruption, Cheve with annoyance in his blue eyes and the woman with a mildly amused smile.  
  
"I'm so sorry, my lord. I tried to stop her but…" The servant apologized profoundly casting a fearful look at his master.  
  
"That's quite all right, I have discovered to my own experience that when her highness has made up her mind it's hard to deter her," Cheve told his servant mildly. Giving the woman's hand one last kiss, his eyes never leaving Mina's, Cheve said with a pleasant smile. "And to what may I ask do I owe the pleasure of your lovely presence, Mina?"  
  
Seeing the smile was like having a bucket of cold water thrown over her. No longer immobilized Mina moved forward with determined strides, she barely noticed the servant take one frightened look at her and hurriedly left the room closing the door behind him.  
  
"You bastard!" She hissed. She lifted her hand and swung, to her surprise he moved with lightning speed and caught her wrist just before the palm of her hand connected with his face.  
  
"Now, now Minako, is that any way to treat the man you claim to love?" He chided even as he grabbed her other flying hand.  
  
Mina tried to break his hold and was furious when she realized she was unable to do so. "You bastard! You lying, two timing, heartless bastard!" She screamed at him.  
  
"I might consent to being a liar but I can assure you Mina that my parentage is most valid," Cheve told her, smiling. "And as for being a two timer," he clucked his tongue, "isn't that like the pot calling the kettle black? How was last night? I hoped you enjoyed yourself, you certainly looked like you were when I left."  
  
Mina stilled in her fighting and met his devilish twinkling eyes, as the meaning of his words penetrated her foggy mind the last remains of color drained from face.  
  
Of course Cheve was not satisfied with only that, "So how was he? Did he give you enough pleasure to satiate that lustful body of yours? Who did you end up spending the night with? You were clinging around so many men that I lost count. "  
  
Each word coming out of his mouth was like a knife against Mina's heart but she managed to pull herself together long enough to give him a retort. "Whoever he was, he was certainly more satisfying than you'll ever be."  
  
Her words hit home and the sneer vanished from his face to be replaced by cold anger, his hold tightened on her wrists painfully. Mina did not utter a sound as she stared defiantly into his eyes but she could feel the pressure building and she was sure the next sound she would hear would be the sound of her bones snapping.  
  
Help came in an unexpected way, "Cheve," the red haired woman spoke up softly.  
  
"Quiet, Lina." Cheve ordered harshly. He yanked backwards forcing her to overbalance and suddenly she found her arms twisted behind her back and she was sitting on top of him in a awkward sideways position. She tried to twist but she was pulled so close to him that the she was having problems breathing, much less move.  
  
"You might want to watch the challenges you throw out. One day I might pick up the gauntlet." He told her coldly right before he forced his lips on hers.  
  
It was nothing like the tender kiss they had shared back at the garden in Jupiter or the many sensuous kisses they had shared after that. This kiss was rough, devoid of gentleness and love, it was pure punishment, pure dominance, used to teach her who was in charge. Mina felt repulsed as his tongue forced itself between her lips, she felt like she wanted to gag. Mina tried to bite him but as if he read her mind he suddenly broke the kiss and flung her away, she fell hard against the tiled floor, pain shooting through her body as the room spun, she shook her head to clear her sight.  
  
The room was silent, nobody came to help her up nor did she expect any. She knew that she had lost, but despite the humiliation she could not just leave, at least yet, "Why, why did you do it?" She asked softly her eyes look at the floor.  
  
"For you to ask that just shows how naive you are. Haven't you learnt anything by now? It's all about money, Mina. Money is what makes the world goes around, it doesn't matter where you're from, as long as you have money you have power."  
  
Mina stared at the man that had brought so much happiness to her for the past few months. The same man who had comforted her while she was down, made her laugh and smile, taught her there was more to life than just her close friends and her duties to her princess, the man that she had fallen in love with. Yet staring down at her was the face of a total stranger and something within her broke.  
  
"Money?" She whispered even as she rose unsteadily to her feet. "You did all of this, you…you used me just so that you could earn some money? What about the lives of all those innocent people out there?!" She shouted and waved her hands in the direction of window behind her. "Do you have any idea of what you just did? People will starve. A war can break out on Saturn! Do you have any idea of how many lives we're talking about here?!"  
  
Cheve looked at her for a while and then shrugged his shoulders. "Saturn is a planet on the brink of war, it was going to happen sooner or later. The so-called Council that had been created in place of the old monarch is weak, some lord would've seized the power and civil war would've broken out eventually. All I did was grasp an opportunity when I saw it, the same thing anybody else would have done if they had the information I had. It's part of politics, it's how we survive."  
  
Mina could not believe what she was hearing, yet as she stared in to Cheve's eyes she could see that he was not lying to her, he truly believed what he just said to be the truth. "If this is how you believe the world is, then I pity you. I don't know what made you into the kind of bitter cold-hearted man you are today, all I can say is that I hope you've earned as much profit as you can out of this and that you had better pray that the damage is minimal. If so much as one person because of this I swear you will pay dearly..." Mina told him coldly.  
  
Cheve inclined his head. "You are welcome to try, love. But you won't be able to pin anything on me, there is no evidence and it'll only be your words against mine. I know enough political games to make not only you but your Queen and the entire Royal Venusian family look like a fool should you choose to bring your accusation to court."  
  
"We'll see."  
  
"Indeed we will. I look forward to that day. Now if you'll excuse us, I think we'll resume our meal in private." Cheve turned towards his lady friend, dismissing Mina's presence with his movement.  
  
Mina gave him one last hated look before she whirled around and headed for the door. As her hand touched the doorknob Cheve called out to her, "You know you might not believe it today but one day you will thank me for doing you this favor. Think of this a well-taught lesson in introducing you to the world of politics, believe me it could have been worse."  
  
Mina choose not to acknowledge him, instead she wrenched open the door and left, the laughter he let out followed her all the way to the courtyard where her mare was waiting.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
"Don't you think you were being a bit too harsh on her?" The sudden voice of Galina cut through Cheve's thoughts a few moments after the princess of Venus had left them.  
  
"She would have had to learn sooner or later." He said with an indifferent shrug. Yet inside, Cheve was annoyed that there was a slight tug of regret eating at his conscious when remembering the hurt in those blue eyes. The same blue eyes that had so many times looked up at him with unquestionable love and trust, "She's far too trusting and naïve, I just happened to be quicker than most to notice it."  
  
"And take advantage of it." Galina finished for him.  
  
Cheve turned to face her with narrowed eyes. Her face was relaxed and serene, all in all she looked like a lady enjoying her morning with a cup of tea as she lifted the delicate porcelain to take a sip. But Cheve was not fooled by that peaceful façade, he knew that beneath that soft feminine package was a hard ruthless lioness. Unlike most nobles around Luneir that mask had not fooled him the first time he met her, nor had she by him. They had both recognized the ambitious mind beneath the other, accepted it and made the most use of it, Cheve was not delusional to believe that Galina was in love with him anymore that he was with her. They did however make a very good team as well as lovers even though they pursued other interests that would further their own cause. Mina was his.  
  
The moment he had seen her at the Queen's garden party, Cheve had recognized the window of opportunity that was there for him to use. Here was a girl, fresh out of schoolroom, innocent, naive with connections not only to the Venusian Throne but the Lunarian one as well and nobody thought of making use of her. Of course she was only sixteen and some might have considered it too young to even consider using Mina but Cheve was not one of those, he had been in politics far too long to be held back by mere age. Bitter experience had taught him that to be successful one had to be ruthless and fast enough to seize the opportunities presented.  
  
His instincts had been right in this case. Thanks to Mina's information about the Queen's aiding plans for Saturn, Cheve was about to become one of the wealthiest men in the Alliance. That wealth would mean power, power that he had not had to stop his family being torn apart ten years ago.  
  
Galina, as if sensing the change in his mood, suddenly cleared her voice. "Well I don't know about you but I need take myself home and rest awhile if I'm ever gonna feel up to the party tonight."  
  
"You could always rest here, we can go together." Giving her a knowing smile he took her hand and gave her a lingering kiss on the wrist.  
  
Smoothly pulling her hand from his, Galina shook her head. "You know as well as I that if I stayed sleep would be the last thing on your mind, need I remind you that you kept me up all night?"  
  
Rising to his feet with a chuckle Cheve conceded defeat and proceeded to escort her to the door, in truth he was more than relieved to see her go since he discovered that his mood for entertaining people had suddenly vanished. Somehow the victorious feeling he should be having, for accomplishing what he had wanted for so long, did not quite brighten his spirits as much as he had thought it would. He kept seeing a pair of cornflower blue eyes filled with hurt and pain and soon they would turn into a pair of brown eyes except that the pain in them turned glassy and empty as their owners stared lifelessly at him.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
She did not know how long she thundered across the fields before she reined her mare in and allowed the poor thing to move at a more normal pace. In her mind Cheve's words kept running around, memories of the Cheve she had just left kept on colliding with the man she had known for the past two months and they refused to mesh. How could the two people be the same person? How was that possible? How?  
  
So caught up was she in her thoughts, Mina did not even hear the approaching horses drawing a carriage nearing her at full speed until a feminine voice suddenly addressed her cutting through her dazed mind.  
  
"Lady Minako, if I can borrow your time for a moment I would like to have a word with you,"  
  
Blinking her eyes Mina turned towards the sound and was surprised to see the same redhead she had met in Cheve's dining room, the same woman who had shared his bed last night. Mina tried to work up her anger at the thought but her recent encounter with Cheve had left her drained and all she could feel was humiliation over the fact that the woman was witness to the entire scene.  
  
Lifting her head with a haughty air she said, "I can't possibly think of anything that you and I would have to discuss."  
  
The redhead smiled. It turned her face from attractive to quite stunning, especially with those luminous green eyes of hers, despite everything jealousy ate at Mina like a bitter venom. "I'm glad that you still have some fighting spirit left. For a moment I was not sure, you looked rather shaken back there."  
  
Mina's blue eyes flashed, to hell with etiquette and well behavior, "And you came chasing after me just to rub it in my face?"  
  
The reaction she got was a chuckle, a deep throaty chuckle that surprised her enough to make her start visibly, "You are refreshing, I like that, no wonder Cheve was attracted to you."  
  
At the mention of the bastard himself, Mina's eyes frosted over, as did her voice. "Don't ever mention that son of a bitch's name in my presence ever again."  
  
The woman's face sobered up at hearing her tone and sympathy showed in her eyes, Mina did not like to see that either.  
  
"I know that it won't mean anything to you, but for what it's worth I couldn't agree with you more."  
  
Mina made a rude sound, "Oh please. I've had enough people make fun of me for one day, don't think I'm stupid enough to fall for lies twice."  
  
"That wasn't a lie."  
  
"So your are claiming that you feel that way about him and yet you can still go to bed with him?" Mina demanded.  
  
"Yes." Sighing the woman said, "Listen I will pass Luneir on my way home to my estate, why don't you join me here? I can guarantee you will be much more comfortable than riding like that, no doubt you are still sore."  
  
The last comment brought a flush to Mina's cheeks, she was not prude but having a total stranger talk to her in that way especially after what Cheve had said earlier was embarrassing. Even so, she was curious as to what this woman had to say, if nothing more than to have somebody to vent her anger on. She was not strong enough to take on Cheve physically, not without calling upon her Venus powers at least, but this woman was a totally different matter. If she said one thing wrong, Mina wouldn't mind punching her in the face, let's see how pretty she would look with a broken nose.  
  
Any other time Mina would have been shocked at the violent thought she had, it was totally unlike her character, but instead she just calmly got off her mare, handed the reins to the footman and got in to the carriage.  
  
The interior was quite comfortably decorated with plush seats and padded backs. There were small lamps and even a bar built against the wall that leaned towards the drivers. The redhead took out a small bottle of vine and poured a glass which she handed to Mina.  
  
"It's safe," She said when Mina eyed it suspiciously and to prove her point she drank half the glass before offering again, "You look rather pale I just thought you could use this to get some of the color back on your face."  
  
Mina took the glass and drank a little. She was right, it did help to restore some equilibrium to her senses, "Thank you." She said grudgingly.  
  
The woman laughed and took out a piece of bread, Mina tried not to look too hard. The hollowness in her stomach reminded her that she had not eaten a bite since last eve.  
  
"Your welcome, by the way my name is Galina. Circumstances back there prevented us from being properly introduced. It's Galina Sher'Lianne of House Tennor."  
  
Mina searched her fatigued mind, House Tennor was one of the Twelve Houses and Sher'Lianne sounded familiar. Wasn't the ruling family of that House named Sher'Lianne?  
  
"And no I'm not part of the ruling family, unfortunately my father is only a distant cousin to them." Galina replied seeming to have read her thoughts. She broke the bread in half and gave Mina a piece.  
  
Mina shrugged her shoulders. Either way it was of no importance to her, she stuffed some of the bread in to her mouth, trying not to sigh at its wonderful taste.  
  
"Tell me lady Minako, how much do you know about the Twelve Houses?" Galina asked watching Mina curiously.  
  
There were a lot of questions Mina had expected she would be asked but this was not one of them. Not knowing where this was going but feeling too tired to second guess her, Mina decided to humor the older woman instead. "The Twelve Houses are the leading Houses of nobles of the Moon, they were founded in the time of Selene. She was the first ruler of the moon and according to legends the House was supposed to be a representative of each ruling monarch in the solar system. We have the nine planets and three special non-human kingdoms. Though none of the three special non-human kingdoms remains, the names of the houses still exist today. At that time they were supposed to represent the interest of each monarch and a ruler of the Moon must have the vote of the Twelve Houses to be able to ascend the Silver Throne. Of course today it is mostly a symbol more than anything thing." Mina finished with a shrug.  
  
Galina studied her with a smile. "Impressive, you managed to nearly quote the words exactly from the textbook. Your teachers must be quite pleased with that, however your learning lacks some foundations."  
  
Mina frowned. "What do you mean?"  
  
"You see, though today the Twelve Houses no longer represent the interest of the monarchs they were created from, they still have the power to decide the ruler of the Moon. For a someone to ascend the Silver Throne each ruler of the Twelve Houses must cast a supportive vote, the hard part is receiving the votes since there is no deciding who will be the ruler of the Houses. Each House has a lot of families and only the family with the most power gets to rule, in most cases that means the most money. The fun usually starts when its time for a new ascension to the throne, then you see a lot of movement as the ruling family changes and new players enter."  
  
Mina was silent for a moment as she pondered over what Galina had just told her. "You make it sound like a game." She said with a tone of accusation.  
  
"That's because it is a game." Galina told her with a chuckle, "What do you think politics is all about? The winner controls the Game but the in the end it is the Game that controls everything. Not even Queen Selenity is immune. How do you think she managed to become Queen?"  
  
"Are you claiming that my aunt got the throne through dirty tricks?" Mina demanded angrily, her blue eyes flashing and indignation on her aunt's part flaring in her body.  
  
"No, no, no." Galina shook her head empathetically, making her red locks dance. "Please, I don't mean to insult you or the Queen, on the contrary I admire her greatly. She is one of the most skilled politicians I have ever seen, the fact that she is a woman only makes me admire her more. No, your aunt got her throne rightfully. You see only a master or someone supported by a master will be able to sit on the Silver throne, if she hadn't proved herself to be a master we would have a completely different rulership today. I admire that in her, her strength as well as her cunning mind."  
  
"Why are you telling me all of this?" Mina asked after a moment of silence, her blue eyes studied the older woman intently trying to read her face. "If knowledge is such a powerful weapon then why are you giving it to me? Aren't you afraid I'll use it to my advantage somehow?"  
  
Galina smiled a warm genuine smile that lit up the small carriage space.  
  
"Actually I'm counting on it. You see, highness, my success is based on three things: my body, my mind and my instincts. Without them I would never have been able to survive this long in the Game, it was my instincts which told me to get close to Cheve, with his sharp mind and ambition I sensed he would go far."  
  
She didn't mention how he would manage that and she didn't need to. At the mention of his name, Mina felt the anger, the shame and the hurt fill her once more, ruthlessly she clamped down on those feelings and buried them deep within. She would handle it later once she was alone.  
  
"But just then when you faced him they also told me that you will be an even better bet. Cheve will go far, he has the mind and the ambition for it, but my instincts tell me that given proper training you will go even further. I'm a survivor and I don't intend to loose on my way to the top, I will one day rule Tennor. So if you want I can teach you all there is to know about the game of politics, more than the Queen ever could. Think about the power and what you can accomplish with that."  
  
Before she could reply one way or another the carriage stopped and Galina's elderly driver opened the door.  
  
"Thank you for the ride." Mina murmured to her hostess over her shoulder before she let the driver help her out. She was not surprised to see that her mare was already set loose and standing ready and waiting for her, somehow Galina struck her as a woman who would surround herself with only the most efficient of servants.  
  
Galina leaned out the window and watched her with solemn eyes. "My estate is by the Three Landings, an hours ride south east of Luneir. I have a lot of parties going all the time, just come by anytime you want, the invitation is open. Think about what I just said."  
  
With that Galina signaled to her driver to resume their journey.  
  
Mina stared after the carriage as it disappeared down the road. She did not know what to make out of the lady Galina and even less of the conversation they just had. Was she truly offering her friendship or was that just another ploy on her part to trick Mina into giving her something she want like Cheve did?  
  
Mounting her mare once again, Mina rode back to the castle slowly. Now that her temper was spent, she took her time. As she rode down the street of Lunair, she saw with far different eyes the chaos that transpired on the street. People fought for food and knew only of one thing: their survival. Mina knew the cold calculated reasons behind all of this, money and the ultimate power it would give, her body shivered and she knew it was not due to the temperature.  
  
She halted in the courtyard, the grand stairs leading up to the white marble castle stretching out in front of her, the pale walls shone like crystal in the sunlight. From behind her she could still hear the noises of life from the street but silence and peace seemed to radiate from the castle like a serene haven in the middle of all chaos. A haven, that is exactly what the castle had been to her, Mina realized. From behind those thick walls she had led a safe and sheltered life, she had been taught how to read and to write, how to walk and talk gracefully and to dance like a butterfly. She knew all about important historical events, geography and social etiquette; everything a proper princess was to know, she knew even knew how to fight. Yes, she had been taught everything, everything but real life, everything but the reality outside these sheltered walls.  
  
Today however, she had had a rude awakening, today was an important day for her. After the initial shock of knowing that she had been with a man and had lost her virginity, she had been thrilled, in Venusian tradition that was the first step a girl took into adulthood, changing her from girl to woman.  
  
An empty hollow feeling filled Mina's chest and she felt an overwhelming sadness. She suddenly felt so alone and homesick. She had never felt like this before, not even when her parents had left her to live here at the age of six. Back then she had her friends and they had made it all bearable, now she was not so sure. It was true that they did not spend all their time together. There were times when they were separated, as they each spent time with their families mainly during summer, yet even then the distance had not felt as great as it did now.  
  
Before summer began they all went their separate ways and now summer was over and she was the only one that had returned. Usagi was on Earth, their former enemy only half a century ago, seeking refuge from an unwanted engagement. Rei was so into the study of Firey that Mina was not even able to feel her anymore in her mind. Lita was too involved in finding her parents' killers and ruling her Kingdom and poor Ami was buried under such a heavy workload Mina would've been surprised if Helios even let her eat, much less sleep. Did any of the girls even think of her as she did them? Mina recalled her last meeting with Lita and what her friend had said to her; neither of them had spoken to each other since.  
  
A strong wind blew past, pulling the leaves from nearby trees and carrying them with a gentle caress before letting them float down to the ground. Mina brushed back some strands of blonde hair from her face and wondered at the same time if this was not just another sign to her. She thought about her friends, she thought about Cheve and everything that had happened and she thought about Galina and what she had just told her in the carriage.  
  
Something made Mina look up to one of the palace's many windows, she saw the tall lithe form of her aunt standing there. Their eyes met and a silent understanding passed between them, without being told Mina knew that her aunt was aware of everything. It startled her, but she was even more surprised by the fact that she was able to read her aunt's face so easily, something she had never been able to do before no matter how hard she had tried. There was sympathy there, as well as sorrow and regret and Mina realized with a sudden insight that the reason Selenity was able to feel all those things was probably because she had been through a similar experience herself.  
  
"The winner controls the Game but in the end it's the Game that controls everything. Not even Queen Selenity is immune." Galina's voice drifted back to haunt Mina. As she watched her aunt, she finally understood the meaning of those words. Unlike before, Mina was finally able to understand her aunt and the position she was in, distantly she wondered how she never saw or realized this before. Was it because she was still a child back then and only saw things through rosy colored glass?  
  
If this was what being adult was, then Mina prayed that she never had to grow up. She didn't want to loose her friends, she didn't want to be part of a world so cold and calculated, where power meant more than integrity and love. Yet she knew in her heart that she had taken the first step and there was nowhere to move but forward for better or worse. 


	11. Chapter 9: Cold treatment

9. Cold treatment  
  
  
  
The morning rounds were conducted at the same time every day. Precisely two hours after morning fast, when Queen Lysanna of Mercury was in the capital, she would walk around with her Chief Physician through the halls of the Aquarian Healer and check up on the patients. They did not always take the same route around the hospital though, this was due to the fact that the Aquarian Healer was the largest of its kind in the solar system and housed several thousands of patients. But despite her heavy schedule the queen never missed out on these rounds where she paid personal interest to the developments of the patients.  
  
While Ami had arrived home for nearly three months ago, today was the first time she was allowed to join the small party that accompanied her mother on her morning rounds. Normally Ami would be knee deep in whatever assignments Helios had given her but today she had been given the morning free. She was sure he had intended for her to use that time to catch up on some sleep, after all it had taken her until early morning before she was finished her report on the Seven Plagues.  
  
The Seven Plagues was the deadliest disease that had ever existed in the Age of Serene. For over ten years seven different plagues ravaged the planets killing over half their population. It was a fascinating subject to study for any physician with historical interest, given time. Yet Ami could not help think it a bit strange that Helios found it so interesting as to waste time on it, considering his hectic schedule. Then again who was she to dig into the mind and reasoning of Helios? The man was an enigma and pretty much a hermit. She doubted that even Selenity knew much about him and she was the one he spent most time with. Besides, Ami had enough of her own problems to deal with.  
  
Ami cast a glance at the woman leading the small group. Queen Lysanna was dressed in a simple blue gown with the Healer cape resting on her slender shoulders. Her face was youthful and the blue eyes sharp and intelligent as they surveyed the patients and the charts. She wore no jewelry aside from a tiny platinum circlet around her forehead, the one she had been given by Ami's father on their wedding day. Ever since her father's death, Ami could not remember many times when she had seen her mother wear her wedding ring, but the circlet seemed to be a constant adornment even when she was dressed for bed.  
  
Ami watched Lysanna confer softly with the physician in charge over the patient's condition and the kind of medication they were treating him with and she felt both admiration and envy for her mother. She wished she had her mother's skill and confidence, even though she was the only female physician there, she held herself so naturally and acted like she belonged. Could she not feel the slight resentment in the air from some of the men? Did she not see the looks they gave her? Was she not able to hear their undermining tone in each question they asked her? Yet Lysanna kept her voice cool and reasoning as she answered all their questions and explained how and why. Secretly Ami wondered if she would ever be able to act with that confidence and assuredness.  
  
Queen Lysanna closed the chart on the last patience, indicating the end of the morning rounds. Ami shook her head mentally and was embarrassed to realize that her mind had gone unfocused for the last ten minutes or so and she had missed out on the consultations. Some of the physicians that had moved along like a group of stiff corpses the whole morning started to liven up and murmur about food and catching up on their studies or patients. Ami herself was preparing to catch her mother before she disappeared off to her duties of ruling a planet. Small as she was it took her awhile to get through the group of male bodies to reach her mother and by the time she did, she managed to hear her mother saying, "Mardus, if you're not too busy I would like you to accompany me to the Intensive Wing."  
  
The young physician's dark brows shot up and disappeared under the short bangs of his hair, but he recovered quickly and said, "Yes, most certainly, your Majesty." He stepped aside and indicated that the queen should lead the way to which she acknowledged with a graceful nod of her head.  
  
Seeing her plans being crushed to dust, Ami did not have any other choice but to follow the pair as they headed over to the Intensive Wing. Not that she minded that much since she had never been to that part of the hospital. The place was a section that was strictly for the Senior Physicians. Only a few physician- apprentices were allowed to accompany their teachers and those were the gifted ones with promises of achieving the Senior Physician title themselves in the future. It was Ami's secret wish that she would one day join them as well. So she held her breath and walked along with the other two, waiting and fearing that one or both would tell her to go away. Mardus did cast her a glance but he did not object when she fell into steps with them. Lysanna did not even do, as much. Ami was unsure her mother was even aware of her presence, then again that was nothing new either. Ever since she got back from the Moon in disgrace, her mother had not acknowledged her presence much at all. Not that they had had much time to spend together, with the funeral of Mako's parents and now the war that had started on Saturn, Lysanna had been spending more times on the other planets than on Mercury.  
  
The Intensive Wing was situated at the very center of the Aquarian Healer. The place was however very quiet and peaceful. Gardens of the Martian kind were built to give off a sense of peace and harmony and it surrounded the Intensive Wing on all sides where tube-like hallways of glasses were connecting it to the rest of the hospital. As the three of them walked down one of these halls Ami could see themselves reflected on the Intensive Wing's walls.  
  
She knew that those walls were made of a special designed glass. The outside worked like a mirror reflecting everything back and yet looking from the inside it was just like any other glass, showing off the wonderful garden and artificially created ponds, and letting through the bright sunlight and starlight from above. The reason she knew so much about this glass was because not only was it one of the best export products Mercury had, but also because Lysanna had been part of the team who had invented it. Actually that was how she had met Ami's father to begin with.  
  
The invention had brought such a sensation that the team had been sent to court to receive awards from the king himself. The moment Ami's father set eyes on the bright ebony haired scientist, he had fallen in love and begun his courtship of her. It had caused quite a sensation at that time since Lysanna was a commoner without any noble lineage at all and having a king marry a common female was just not heard of no matter how famous she was. Fortunately Lysanna had, at that time, made friends with the queens of the inner planets and somehow they had all stepped in and worked out the miracle.  
  
Ami knew all of this by heart having heard it being told by her father hundreds of times and having read romance novels inspired by their love. Normally she did not read such romantic sop, that was Mako's and Mina's department, but this kind lay close to her heart not only because it was connected to her parents but also because of the influence they had to society in general. Her parents' love had inspired so many new stories that became quickly popular among the female commoners (of course highborns would never be caught dead reading those) that the literacy rates increased dramatically. Ami could not imagine a better gift than that. It always pained her to see how commoners were treated, especially the farmers, despite the fact Mercury was supposed to be a well advanced society like where education was provided by the crown to all citizens no matter their status.  
  
Once they entered the Intensive Wing there was a hushed solemnity in the air. It was not exactly like entering a temple, since the former gave you sense of peace and a warm protective feeling, but somehow in that Wing one would automatically lower one's voice. Even the authoritative and often loud-spoken Mardus, lowered his voice without stopping in stride as he filled Lysanna in on status of the place.  
  
".I'm not saying that we should not help out the Saturnians but certainly we should be able to cut down on the number of chief Physicians we send over there. At the moment we are having problems holding classes as well as managing the ordinary upkeep of this place. If you would only allow me to promote more physicians or abolish the rule of having only chiefs around here it would make things a lot easier."  
  
"The physicians stays on Saturn and there will be no changing of the rules." Lysanna told the man in a quiet murmur stopping beside the nearest patient and took up the charts. "The requirements are there for a reason. These people would not be here if their condition were not considered grave enough. For that they will require the necessary skills, skills that can only be provided by the right people. If we bend either rule, in the end it will be the very patients we have sworn to help that will suffer."  
  
From where she was standing Ami could easily see that Mardus was not happy about the queen's answer. Whether it was because he disagreed with her or because he did not like being told no, Ami was not sure. When it came to her mother, Ami was never sure which it was since most of the men she worked with resented having to take orders from a female. The only one Ami had seen being able to pull it off was Selenity but then again she was the ruler of the Moon and that gave her exceptions to a lot of things.  
  
"I think we should cut down on the painkillers on this one. He does not seem to be reacting very well to the medication we give him and I don't want him to develop an addiction. Try using some mixture of Moondrops and Tearwells instead. They have some painkilling effects as well as calming the patient down. I don't think it's just the burns that are affecting him as much the memories of the fire itself. Maybe if his mind is more at rest he would stop tossing so much and finally let his wounds heal."  
  
Lysanna scribbled something on the charts, set it back on its normal place and moved over to the next one. To Ami's surprise she did not automatically take up the chart to read, as she normally would do, instead she studied the patient for a long time and finally said, "What can you tell me of this one, Mardus?"  
  
"She's new. Some hikers found her on their way from Krimsaele." He said the word hikers with a sneer to his tone that referred to daredevils. It was the derogatory terms Mercurians used for those adventurers that preferred to pass the great masses of snow outside on foot and cutting across country instead of using the shuttles that were built on the specific routes.  
  
"She was brought here three days ago, with severe injuries as well as frostbite." Mardus continued his report his blue eyes frowning at the patient. "Jayna and I nearly lost her twice but with the help of Master Helios we were able to keep her on this side of the realm. However she has not woken up once, even during her time with the hikers."  
  
"Any idea who she is or why she was out there in the first place?" Lysanna asked softly while she examined the woman.  
  
Mardus shook his head. "We'd been meaning to ask the hikers a bit more but they disappeared on us. Jayna got the impression that they did not know her either. They told her that they figured since they would pass by here, they would do their duty and bring her along. They were quite prepared to leave her in case she would not make it on their journey."  
  
Lysanna made a low sound as if she had expected it. "Strange colorings, she has." She mused.  
  
Ami studied the woman on the bed and she had to agree with her mother. The woman's hair was very dark but unlike Ami's which tends to show blue highlights or Rei's with purple highlights this woman had dark greenish highlights to her black hair. An absent frown appeared on Ami's face as she tried to remember where she had read about people with black-green hair.  
  
"I wonder if she has any connections to Pluto." Lysanna said absently.  
  
Yes that was it! Some Plutonians were known to be born with this kind of color though it was a rare thing. Most of them were just dark haired like Saturnians, Martians and Mercurians.  
  
"That's impossible! What would a Plutonian have to do here in Mercury?" Mardus demanded in a low hiss. The physician held, like many others, a strong suspicious nature towards the mysterious Plutonians.  
  
"I don't know. Would you care to ask the Seers that the next you meet them?" Lysanna asked dryly.  
  
That of course shut him up. Plutonians were known to be closemouthed about everything, they claimed it would interfere with their Quest. Everybody knew of the secretive Plutonians and their Quest but what it actually was only they themselves knew though Ami suspected strongly that many of them did not know either. Some that she had met seemed to act like they did not even know why they were doing what they were, except that they were told to do so by their Seers. Not that they would admit to it in quite that way if one should ask them, provided anyone dared to ask them that to begin with.  
  
For the next few hours they moved through the dozen of patients that filled the wing. Lysanna and Mardus analyzed the patients and exchanged thoughts and ideas for treatment while Ami mentally took notes of everything they said and did. Especially since she did not know when she would have the opportunity to come back here again.  
  
It was noon by the time they exited the Intensive Wing and announcing the end of the morning round for that day. Knowing that she only had an hour to take her back to the palace and grab a meal before she had to meet her alchemist teacher Ami nonetheless lingered behind to wait for her mother to finish so that they could ride back together.  
  
If Lysanna was surprised by Ami's presence she did not let it show. Like earlier she did not acknowledge Ami's at all, which meant the ride back to the palace was a silent one. Normally Ami was a person who preferred solitude but she had to admit that this silence between her mother and her was not normal and while she did not let it show she was feeling it grate on her nerves. She was not the only one to sense it, she noticed the guards that had escorted them back hurried off to other errands even before their replacements had taken their proper places, not that the new ones felt any more comfortable. Ami felt bad about putting them through this but she knew her mother better than to break the silence first. If Lysanna wanted keep quiet nothing in the world could pry her lips apart and Ami needed her to talk. So she would wait her out. She only hoped it would not be too long.  
  
Her wait ended when they reached Lysanna's private study.  
  
"Don't you have a lesson to get to?" Lysanna asked stopping at the threshold when Ami made to follow her into the study.  
  
The two guards accompanying them positioned themselves outside on either side of the door after having checked the room. Their faces were impassive but Ami knew that they were straining their ears to listen.  
  
"May I have a word with you inside, Mother?" Ami asked carefully.  
  
"Whatever it is Amelia, I'm sure it can wait 'til later. I have a lot of work to catch up on."  
  
She turned to leave but Ami reached out with her hand and halted her. "No, it really can't. Mother, please? It won't take long." She promised.  
  
"We will speak later, Amelia." Lysanna said firmly and with finality in her voice. It was a tone Ami and most of the court recognized. It was the tone of voice the Queen of Mercury used when she had had her last say on a subject. Anybody hearing that tone backed off, even Ami, at least she used to. While it still sent quivers up her back, Ami reminded herself that what she was about to say was too important, for the sake of her friend she had to do it. So stiffening her spine and lifting her chin she followed her mother in and shut the heavy double door behind her.  
  
"No Mother. I think you and I have been postponing this conversation long enough. It is time that we spoke now."  
  
From behind the desk Lysanna stared at her for a very long time, her blue eyes cool and unreadable. "Very well Amelia. What is it that is so important?" She settled down on the deep cushioned chair that was quite simple compared to the rest of the furniture in the room, still looking every inch the queen; a very unapproachable queen.  
  
Gathering her courage, Ami moved forward and further into the room so that she was standing in front of her mother. "Mako." She said simply.  
  
Lysanna acknowledged her reply with a nod. "A fair question considering the circumstances, but no."  
  
"But Mother. It's been over three months now. Surely whatever faults we've made has been punished enough!"  
  
"That is not for me to decide but Queen Selenity. As long as she says you are not to have any contacts with each other that is what it will be." Lysanna told her coldly.  
  
"The senshi might be under the direct order of the queen," Ami waved her hand in the air before she set both of them down on the desk. Leaning forward she said, "but I am not asking as a senshi right now, Mother. I'm asking as a friend. A friend who is very worried about someone who just lost the two most important people in her life. Please mother? Let me go to Jupiter. Mako needs a friend around to help her through this."  
  
Mother's and daughter's eyes met for a long time and for a moment there Ami was actually playing with the thought that her mother would give in. Yet hope flickered and died like candlelight in the middle of a blizzard when her mother shook her head.  
  
"But why?"  
  
"You already know why. Do not waste both yours and my time by asking the obvious, Amelia. Now if there's nothing more, then leave. I have things of importance to attend to here." Lysanna told her coolly and started to shuffle with the stack of papers on top of her desk.  
  
"More important than the wellbeing of your best friend's daughter?"  
  
Hands stilled in midair and her mother's face shot up in reaction to her words. Ami got to see a quick flash of anger before it disappeared but she felt no guilt or shame for her disrespect. It was hard to feel anything over the waves of anger she felt over hearing her mother's cold dismissal and so she barreled on. "I thought you and aunt Magda were close. How can you claim to be a good friend of hers and yet stand by and watch while her only child suffers like this all alone? Have you forgotten how aunt Magda and the others were there for you when father died?"  
  
"Amelia, I'm only going to tell you this once so you had better listen carefully." Lysanna said with a quiet warning tone. "Friendship is important but never mix friendship with duty. Always remember who you are and where your loyalties must lie or one day you might hurt yourself and maybe bring casualties with you. Magda and others could come to me because there was nothing to conflict with their duties as rulers. Had things been otherwise they would have stayed away too and I would have understood just like Mako will understand."  
  
Ami shook her head. "Usagi is not even around for me to protect anymore so how can my going to Jupiter affect my work as a senshi?"  
  
Lysanna laughed but there was no humor held in it. "You think that just because you can call her aunt and she won't demote you from your post if you disobey her? Never forget she is the Queen of the Moon and she will always be a ruler before she is a friend. Even if you risk everything to save her own daughter she might not thank you for it."  
  
"So this isn't about Mako. It's about Usagi." Ami said after a long while of silence and met her mother's eyes steadily. "What were we supposed to have done, left Usagi inside the enemies territories?" The question had been rhetorical and she had not expected her mother to answer, which was why Lysanna's cool reply caught her off guard.  
  
"Serenity made that choice herself so she will have to live with the consequences of her action. Sooner or later you and the other girls will have to realize that and allow her to grow up."  
  
"She was upset!"  
  
"And that gives her the right to stop using her head and just act?" Lysanna arched a brow. "By choosing to run instead staying she not only risked her own life but millions of people with her. What do you think would happen if the Earthlings accidentally killed her before they found out her true identity? Or if they found out about her and used her as a hostage?"  
  
"They signed the Treaty." Ami told her mother stubbornly out of loyalty to her friend more than real conviction of her own.  
  
"And you think that will be enough? Less than fifty years ago the Silver Alliance were at war with Earth. There are still many alive who fought those on those battlegrounds, who remember their fathers, brothers and friends being killed. You think they forgive and forget that easily?"  
  
She continued to list out different scenarios and possibilities with cold inarguable logic. Some of them Ami had to admit had also crossed her mind. There was no arguing with the fact that a lot of people's life would be affected if something happened to her friend. Running away was not the wisest thing to do, but still Ami felt anger build within her when she heard her mother's last comment.  
  
"Usagi is not a selfish spoiled brat." She interrupted coldly. Her blue eyes were flashing with anger and unnoticed by her, her hands were clenched into tight fists at the side. "She wants to find love just like any other girl. I would have thought that you of all people would be able to empathize with her." She said the last in an accusatory tone.  
  
"And what do you mean by that?"  
  
Too wrapped up in defending her often-misunderstood friend, Ami missed the warning glint in her mother's eyes. "You and father were in love too. You fought hard to have each other so why should Usagi settle for less?"  
  
"That was different." Lysanna told her shortly with a tone that clearly said end of discussion. To Ami however it was just another red flag waving in front of her. Suddenly all the frustration and anger she felt for the past few months boiled over and words tumbled from her mouth before she even knew what she was doing.  
  
"It's so easy to point a finger at someone else when he or she make a mistake isn't it? But have any of you ever stopped and thought about how things were for you at that age? You call Usagi selfish and yet you were no better, despite the fact that you were older. Where was all this 'do the right thing, make the right choices and duty to your county and people' when you met father and insisted on marrying him?" Ami demanded softly. "Or have you forgotten that our planet nearly plunged into a civil war like the one waging on Saturn now? You -"  
  
It was a question of debate over who was more surprised at the slap that came. Shock was written over both mother's and daughter's faces as they stared at each other. Silence stretched out with a heaviness that resembled the kind that hung in the air right after a thunderclap.  
  
Lysanna was the one to break the silence first. With a voice that sounded quite hoarse she said slowly while standing and facing her daughter, "I will not have my own daughter talk to me in that tone of voice. This discussion is over. Queen Selenity has given her order and you shall follow it through to the letter. You not only dishonor me but you dishonor your father as well with misbehavior like that. Do I make myself clear?"  
  
"Crystal clear." Ami told her with a dull voice as she slowly backed away from the desk and her mother. Her visions blurred at the edges as she felt her eyes stinging with unshed tears.  
  
Without a word she whirled around and headed for the door. She kept her head high and her steps even, though her chest was tightening with burning emotions that threatened to burst.  
  
She was not going to cry!  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Lysanna waited until the door had been firmly closed after Ami before she allowed the rigid facade she held to drop and all the weariness and pain she felt to show. Sliding down on the deep chair she closed her eyes and rested her forehead against her fist. She felt her eyes burn with unshed tears and her throat constrict in pain but she refused to let the dam break. She refused to cry another tear over him, never over him again!  
  
The palm of her right hand stung but the ache in her heart was worse.  
  
Like a million times since his death and she resumed the mantle of rulership, Lysanna looked up at the portrait of her husband hanging on the wall across from her. His loving face was expertly portrayed by the artist, even that glint in his eyes, the silent devil-may-care amusement was visible making him seem so alive.  
  
"This is all your fault you know." Lysanna whispered to her husband in an accusatory tone. "If only you had enough love in your heart for the both of us I wouldn't be this harsh towards her." She fought against the guilt she felt and tried to block out the sight of Ami's hurt face but only managed to make the emotion increase instead. It did not help to feel his eyes looking down towards her from the wall.  
  
She had not wanted to have the conversation with Ami here to begin with. In their office. In her sanctuary. The only place she had left that had up until today been untouched by Ami. Lysanna did not think of herself as a fanciful person. She did not believe in fate or higher powers and yet it seemed like a cruel joke when Ami just happened to position herself in front of Lysanna so that it seemed the portrait of Roland was gazing down at his daughter instead of his wife. She knew Ami did not do it intentionally but that did not make it any less painful for her.  
  
Watching that portrait and at the same time hearing her daughter talk about friendship and love, especially the one Lysanna had shared with her husband had been too much even for her to bear and she had lashed out, lashed out without thinking towards a young girl. A girl whom she both loved and was jealous of. Her very own daughter.  
  
"How can I think of her as my daughter when all I can remember is her as my rival?" Lysanna asked softly to the man whom she had loved and believed in with all her heart only to have him dash away her hopes and dreams one by one.  
  
Yes it was true; the love story between Roland and her had been wonderful and fairy tale like. She was not much different from any other young girl of her class; she had harbored dreams of finding her prince one day too. Who would have thought that her prince would actually in truth turn out to be the very king of Mercury himself? And wonders of wonders that he returned her feelings and wished to marry her, a little nobody who did not owe much aside from the clothes she wore and who did not carry a single drop of noble blood in her veins? Yet it had happened and they had been happy despite the misgivings of so many people.  
  
Unlike the stories they did not live happily ever after because everything must have an end and in time their happiness took that path also.  
  
It began with the miscarriage she had and the limited chances of conceiving afterwards. Roland's advisors wanted him to take abdicate her and take another wife for the sake of the planet. The fact that the White Wings, a rebellious band living out in the Great Ice, the place they called the part of the planets where protective domes were not built to generate warmth, was gaining strength and plotting to overthrow the monarchy did not help matters either. Especially since the queen was not well loved, at least not by the upper class, those who had the power to make themselves heard.  
  
Lysanna tried hard to fit in, to prove to these people that she was not an opportunist, a woman after Roland's position, power and wealth. Yet it seemed that the more she tried the more things went wrong and the more she and Roland drifted apart. For a while there when Ami was born things had gone back to normal between the two of them and Lysanna had harbored hope for their love and marriage but then slowly they began to drift apart again. The further they drifted seemed, the closer the bond between daughter and father became, leaving Lysanna alone to deal with the world.  
  
There had been many times when Lysanna had thought about giving up, letting go of everything and just vanish. But a stubborn part of her had just refused to do that, giving up would be failing and proving to all those people that they had been right about her being an unfit queen and her pride would not allow her to take that fall. So she had held on and she had fought even when she had lost more and more. First her father and then Pythia. Then Roland and now Magda and Gregor. All she had left were a handful of friends, if it was even possible to call them that. With the increasing troubles in the galaxy they were all having their own problems and conflicts were increasing because of their different interests.  
  
Lysanna closed her eyes remembering her argument with Selenity on Saturn right before she returned. It still hurt to know that despite everything she had done for Mercury and the good of the Alliance Selenity still did not trust in her enough to share secrets with her. It was obvious to everyone that Serenity or Usagi as Ami called her, had run away from home but Selenity refused to confirm the news either way to Lysanna. It annoyed Lysanna a great deal that despite what her daughter had done Selenity was still sheltering her and protecting her just like she was protecting her niece Minako concerning the civil war on Saturn. How come hers, Magda's and Pythia's daughters were sent home in disgrace while she protected the other two? Was it because they were kinsmen? She thought that when they had agreed to follow the old tradition and send their daughters into Selenity's care she would've treated them all like her own. Was that not what had been agreed upon? Yet the three girls were punished and with them their families.  
  
Thinking about the list of problems that had arisen at home ever since the knowledge that the princess of Mercury was in disfavor with the Queen of the Moon had been made public, Lysanna felt her head start to throb. Her desk was piled up with complaints and incidents all through out Mercury, half caused by the high-borns who either did not approve of female leadership or commoners sitting on the throne and the other half by the White Wings. She knew they were planning something, reports had indicated high profiled members being spotted in all the major key cities of Mercury and nothing had happened, yet. Whatever it was they were plotting, Lysanna feared it, there were too many disturbances happening around the galaxy, even before the assassination on Jupiter and the civil war on Saturn.  
  
Opening her eyes, Lysanna looked up and met her husband's on the far wall. "Beloved I really don't know how long I can keep this up but I will try to keep my promise to you and see Ami on the throne. No matter what."  
  
The man on the portrait stared back at her with intelligent green eyes. Eyes that seemed to touch the very inner core of her heart and see the deepest part of her soul. The only pair of eyes that had been able to melt the coldness around her heart and fill the empty void residing there, for however fleeting that moment had been.  
  
Silent tears slid down pale cheeks. The only visible proof of the pain a lonely woman felt as she nursed a broken heart and a longing soul for the man she had once believed was her soulmate.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Unaware of it, a few stories above Lysanna, the cause of her misery was also crying her heart out. While her mother cried over the pain of losing her husband's love to her own daughter, Ami was crying over the lack of love from her mother.  
  
Lying on the king size bed, Ami was stretched across, her head buried into the soft pillow while she with muffled sobs let out her pain.  
  
Everything was just so unfair. She had done nothing to deserve her mother's reprimand and disappointment. Yet no matter what she did, it seemed her mother would only find the faults. Ami did not expect her mother to praise her for everything she did like Mako's or Mina's mothers did to them, but a sign showing some approval would not have hurt either. So why? Why could they not get along?  
  
They were supposed to be mother and daughter but watching her friends interact with their own families only made Ami more aware of the lack of closeness between her and Lysanna. The worst part was watching her mother treat total strangers, like the patients they visited that morning, with more consideration and care than she ever did Ami.  
  
It was not like Ami was asking for the impossible. She only wanted to visit one of her best friends. Was that too much to ask for?  
  
Ami lifted her head slightly and looked at the small portrait standing on her bedside table showing her father holding her while she sat on the head of a shuttle.  
  
"Why father? Why did you have to leave us so early?" Ami asked.  
  
Of course he had no answer to that. This was an old habit Ami had. Whenever she was down she would talk to the portrait of her father. While she knew he would not be able to respond to her she felt deep within her heart that he still could hear her. At least that was what those green understanding eyes were conveying to her when she looked upon them.  
  
Remembering her father and his love only made Ami more aware of the lack she felt from her mother's part and sadness rose within her chest. Ami fingered lightly at her left cheek, which was still stinging from her mother's earlier slap, and anger replaced sadness.  
  
Fine, if she wanted to her to stay put, that was what she would do. She would stay put and not move at all. So far she had done everything by the book but also with consideration towards her elders out of love and respect for them. Since they were not going to show her any kind of consideration in return why should she making things easier for them and harder for herself? Showing respect was a two way street and it was about time her mother understood that.  
  
Tears filled her eyes and drifted down to soak the pillow underneath her. Ami wished with all of her heart that she had her friends around her. Ever since her father's death they had been her family. Without them she felt so alone and so lost. She wanted to see cheerful Usagi skip around, brightening their lives at one moment and driving them insane the next. She missed hearing Mina's musical laughter and her talks about fashions and boys all the while mixing up the idioms. She longed for the peaceful mornings with Rei as she meditated and Ami herself sat and read. She wanted to smell Mako's cooking and watch her fighting spirit as she came to her friends defense. Would she be able to see any of them again?  
  
So she stayed in her room. The maid came and called several times to get her to go down to the dining halls and have her meal only to give up each time and bring a tray of food back up to set down outside her door. Others came, even Helios came once but they all left without managing to move Ami's resolve. The only one who kept herself away was her mother.  
  
After her initial shock had worn off and Ami kept herself busy by working with her mini computer. Ever since she had been given the device four years ago she had wanted to make adjustment to it but always Luna had stopped her. This time there was no Luna around so Ami took the opportunity to try out the theories she had for any improvements for the computer.  
  
As she worked she lost all sense of time. Outside daylight came to be replaced by starlight and vice versa. Ami paid no attention to the world outside her room until she was abruptly pulled out of her concentration by a loud explosion. Dropping the computer in her hand, Ami jumped up from the chair and rushed towards the balcony.  
  
It did not take her long to see where the explosion had come from and her heart lodged into her throat. Only less than a mile away set against the pristine white background, smoke was coming from a large dome like building: the Aquarian Healer.  
  
Without hesitation Ami rushed back to her room pulled out her henshin pen from her pocket and called out "Mercury Power makeup!"  
  
Blue light surrounded her swirling like water around her and in the next second she was no longer princess Amelia but Sailor Mercury.  
  
Mercury pushed the secret panel by her bedside table and a part of the wall moved aside to reveal a secret passageway. Following the hidden passage, she entered the Invention chambers at the cellars. There was nobody there nor did she expect any since only she and her mother knew of this room and the other rarely came down here anymore.  
  
Mercury headed first to the small computer by the wall and once the coordinate for the hospital was set; she jumped on to the shining aquamarine circle on the floor. Light surrounded her, blinding her and once she was able to see again she was no longer at the Invention Chamber at the palace but at the Intensive Wing of Aquarian Healer. Had she not been here with her mother and Mardus the last time, Mercury would never have known where she was. From the background screams and shouts could be heard as well as several explosions. From the corner of her eyes Mercury could see smoke through the windows.  
  
First things first. She needed to find out what happened and maybe get the people to a safer place. She took a step forward and the room spun around her. Feeling weakened Mercury grabbed hold of something to steady her as she fought against the nausea that rolled over. The teleportation device her mother had created definitely needed improvement. It was a far cry from the Teleportation stones they had used to get them to and back from Earth.  
  
Mercury shook her head to try and clear her vision when suddenly several of the doors leading to the wing burst open sending wooden splinters flying into the air. Monsters of all kind, some flying and some running, some smaller and others larger came rushing in to the room. She ducked just as one large wooden piece flew past where her head had been, while at the same time kicking out with her legs. She felt something connect and a guttural cry pierced the air mixing with the other screams and beast-like cries. Using the table that she had grabbed hold of earlier as leverage she pushed herself over it with a somersault landing on the other side of the table. Two more creatures came at her. She hit them quickly with her arm sending them either flying or rolling on the floor.  
  
While she dodged and fought several more her eyes quickly scanned the room and frustration as well as anger curled around her stomach. She wanted to scream. She wanted to howl at what she saw.  
  
Blood splattered everywhere. Red and dark drops filling the floor, the walls the furniture as the monsters went to work dismembering the unconscious patients on the beds.  
  
Rage, the kind that she had never felt in her entire life filled her and she struck out at the small creature diving towards her. With a swift movement she grabbed hold of one of its four wings on the back and swung it into the air like a weapon striking down several more before she let go. The force she was using was enough to send the creature crashing against the wall with a sickening thud.  
  
Putting both of her hands in front of her she called out. "Shabon Spray!"  
  
Bubbles of water formed from her hand and shot out filling the room until a fog-like mist seemed to cover the entire place. There was a moment of deadly silence as confusion filled the attacking monsters. Without wasting time Mercury touched her earring pushing down the visor over her eyes. The visor made it possible to see the room clearly and using it to dodge the monsters as they ran around the room in blindness attacking everything and each other, Mercury reached out and grabbed the nearest patient from the bed and ran out the room.  
  
It pained her that she was only able to take one of them but she knew that should she stay, then she would not have been able to save any. Her powers were protective, unlike her friends, and there was no way she would be able to defeat all of those monsters before they managed to kill the defenseless people in coma. She needed to find help.  
  
The hallways of the place were littered with bodies both human and monsters alike. The guards placed here to keep order more than anything else had done their duties well in protecting the innocents. Mercury made sure she memorized the faces of those brave souls that she encountered on her way out with her patient. She swore that she would make sure they were honored for deeds and their families were well taken cared of. That is if she got out of here alive.  
  
The monsters outside were even more than at the Intensive Wing and burdened down with an unconscious patient it did not make it easy for her to move freely. Even with her powers enhanced through her senshi form, she was feeling herself tire. For every foot she had to fight to get one step away from the central part of the building. Beads of sweat clung to her temple and her breathing was becoming labored. She knew her body well enough from the vigorous training Luna and Artemis had put them through to know that her body was slowly exhausting itself from all the fighting and use of her power.  
  
Mercury did not know whether the monsters were turning more in numbers or becoming immune to her fog but it seemed it required less and less time before she had to call upon her powers again to blind and confuse them.  
  
She stumbled over something and losing her balance, Mercury fell down pulling her companion with her. Shifting her body in time so that she would be the one to take the blunt, Mercury was still caught by surprise when the unconscious woman landed on her. Air whooshed out of her and she gasped out.  
  
At that time she heard running feet. Turning her head she saw two of the Physician Trainees run towards her with a group of monsters at close pursuit. Their faces were terrified and only at the sight of her to be filled with hope.  
  
"Sailor Mercury! Please save us!" One of the trainees called out to her. Her name was Rema. She had attended some of the classes together with princess Ami. Mercury remembered her as a kind girl with a shy smile and an encouraging word for her fellow students. She was very bright and showed promises in the healing arts. Unfortunately she would never be able to prove it, because the same time that Ami pushed aside her patient to come to their aid, Rema let out a shocked sound. Her dark eyes bulged. Red spot covered the front of her chest right before claws shot forward and ran through her. Shining dark eyes filled with hope darkened and became lifeless. Her fellow trainee quickly joined her.  
  
Mercury stared at both the girls with horror and shock. Everything seemed to come to a stop. The sounds in the background fading to a buzzing level. The monster that had killed Rema and her friend, staring down at her from across the hallway with a leering grin. The many dozens of sharp teeth gleaming in the light. Dark green greasy hair falling down its face in patches. Long arms reaching all the way to its knees swinging back and forth as it walked towards her. The claws on each of the six fingers still dripping from the blood of its victims.  
  
Blood. Blood was everywhere. Bodies. Bodies were littered across the hallway. Not just the two girls but so many more. Unfortunate people being caught in the middle of this slaughter and deep within her, Mercury knew they would be next.  
  
She looked down at the woman she had saved from the Intensive Wing. She was not even surprised to realize that it was the same woman they had discussed the other day. The strange Plutonian that the hikers had found out in the Great Ice. Her face was so pale she looked dead. The long black-green hair streaming across her face and chest. A large purple bruise was forming on her face and she bled from several places. No doubt having her stitches torn up from all the movements.  
  
Mercury felt an overwhelming sadness. Tears filled her eyes and she clenched her hands so hard that she could feel the nails biting against her flesh despite the gloves she wore. For the first time in her life, she wished that she had destructive powers like her friends. At the moment her powers were of no use. She could not protect her people with them. If only any of the others had been here they would have been able to help.  
  
"I want to become strong. I want to help. I want to protect the innocent. Help me." She whispered while she pulled the Plutonian more tightly against her, shielding her with her body. "Somebody please tell me what to do. Give me the power! Please!"  
  
Her throat constricted and she felt her chest hurting as if too many emotions were being bottled inside of her. She felt like she was about to explode. Coldness crept inside her swirling madly like a blizzard. She felt like she was about to explode, throwing back her head she screamed.  
  
"SHABON SPRAY FREEZE!!!"  
  
Just like before bubbles seemed to come from her except that they went in a maddening swirl much quicker than before and with more force and greater amount. Instead of coolness the bubbles were freezing cold and despite the fog Mercury was actually able to see mist forming as she breathed. But the most astonishing was that all the monsters not just the giant one in front of her but the entire hallway where the fog had filled seemed to have stopped as if frozen in time.  
  
Realization dawned on her quickly and she closed her eyes. "Thank you, Athena. Thank you." She said softly to the Guardian Spirit of Mercury, the one who had gifted her with henshin pen of Mercury at the age of six at the Head Temple of Athena.  
  
Without wasting more time, Mercury lifted the unconscious woman on the floor and hurriedly left towards safety. Feeling strengthened once again, the rest did not seem as impossible as before. She met soldiers halfway through along with mages and having given her charge over to more capable hands, Mercury returned to help them clean the place of vermin. While this was the first time she had actually fought with others than her fellow senshi, Mercury discovered quickly that the cooperation was not so bad either. The mages all controlled elements similar to theirs and the guards provided the pure hand to hand combats that became quite supportive in the attacks.  
  
With their combined forces the monsters were quickly dispatched. The cleaning however took much longer. The numbers of deaths kept on rising as more and more bodies were found and brought out. Ami, having gone back to her normal self, knew that it would take a very long time before Aquarian Healer would ever be restored again, if ever.  
  
Being the largest hospital in their galaxy and holding the hopes of promised life for so many thousands of people, today it was the deathtrap of thousands too. Defenseless sick peoples unable to protect themselves slaughtered like animals, some in their beds and others while running. None were spared. Only those able to fight had been fortunate to survive.  
  
The most frustrating thing of all was the fact that they could not even answer the question why. Why did all of this happen? What was the meaning of it? Where did these monsters come from? Nobody had ever seen species like these before. And how did they manage to show up so sudden and so many without being detected earlier? The most puzzling thing was the fact that they seemed to have come from within the hospital not from the outside, which led Ami to believe that they might have used a teleportation device not so different from her own. That thought was more than enough to chill her blood to ice. If such things really did exist then what prevented them from coming back? Or somewhere else?  
  
Just then Ami felt someone looking at her. Turning her head she met the familiar blue eyes of her mother. Relief washed over her seeing her unharmed but she was not able to hold on to that feeling for long. Lysanna only looked at her briefly before she turned and walked away in cold silence. Yet the look she had given right before she left had spoke volumes to Ami.  
  
Shame, guilt, sadness, weariness and hurt all washed over Ami in waves. Somehow that brief look, the cold treatment had been even more painful than the slap her mother had given her. The worst part was knowing that her mother was right this time. This was Ami's fault. If she had not been sulking in her room for the past few days she would have been closer at hand and the casualties less in numbers.  
  
Ami let her eyes sweep over the street where the dead bodies were being carried away. Monsters might have killed them but her hands were just as bloodied as those monsters because she had not been there to help, to protect. She had not done her duty like she was supposed to. Had she not locked herself up in her room she would have been having lessons with Rema and the others and maybe all of this could have been avoided.  
  
Suddenly the last conversation with her mother started to make sense to her. By trying to help her friend she had let her duty as a senshi slide. She let one cloud her judgment of the other and these were the casualties for her mistake.  
  
Ami looked at her mother while she moved along the rows of injured people.  
  
"Before today I always thought my duty was to protect Usagi because she was the next heir to the throne of the Moon. I never realized that she symbolized so much more. Her wellbeing means the wellbeing of the innocents living in this solar system. To uphold order and peace so that people can live and prosper. Do not worry mother. I will honor you and father. I will protect Usagi and the innocents."  
  
Just then her mother looked up and met her eyes briefly before turning away again. Fleetingly Ami wondered if she might have heard her thoughts somehow only to shake away the ludicrous thought. Most probably she only wanted Ami to start helping out instead of just standing there, to which she was right also.  
  
Sighing inwardly, Ami wondered if there ever was going to be a time when her mother was not right about something. It was hard to measure up to someone who was did everything perfect. Well almost everything, in the healing field, Helios was still better than Lysanna.  
  
At the thought of Helios, Ami looked around with a frown. Now that she thought about it, she had not seen him the whole time. She would think with a major thing like this, he would be knee deep in work already patching up the wounded. It was not usual for Helios not to be around. Where was the physician?  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
It was with a heavy heart that, Helios patched up the last of the wounds on the young girl lying on the small bed. There were no outward signs of wounds anymore for him to attend to and with the help of his skills and time there would not be any scars left either to remind her of what had transpired today. There was however nothing to guarantee that there will not be any wound to the spirit or the mind. Those were beyond his powers to attend to. He only hoped that she was strong enough to handle them.  
  
Helios still did not know exactly what had transpired here. The Elders had been very close mouthed about the whole incident. Obviously there had been an attack here on Pluto just like Mercury, but the forces seemed to have been stronger, from the little he caught sight of when it came to dead monster bodies that were still recognizable. Certainly the casualties had been more here. If he closed his eyes he was still able to visualise the bloody scene in front of him with all the dead bodies littered over the grounds and what was left the Midnight Shrine. He also knew that if he wanted to find out more he was going to have to wait for his queen to tell him. The Elders were a mysterious and close-mouthed lot that rarely mixed with the people of the other races. The only person they seem to have any respect for was the queen of the Moon. The only reason Helios was even here today was because the wound of the girl in front him had considered too serious for any physician here to take care of and only someone of Helios calibre would be able to handle. Still there had been a moment or two a while back when he had not been sure he would be able to save her. He was pretty much sure that without the help of the Silver crystal and the girl's two guardians she would not have.  
  
Still he wondered what all this meant. The sudden attack on Mercury and Pluto. They all knew the war was arriving. The prophecies told them of it. But was it already here? Of those Champions they had been able to identify only a few were ready to take on their role most of them were not. And what about the rest that they still had not been able to find? How far have they come in the developments of their powers and what about their personal selves? Were they strong enough as individuals not to be tempted by the seduction of the Darkness? Just exactly how much time did they have left? 


	12. Chapter 10: The Sailor Senshis

10. The Sailor Senshi  
  
  
  
A table went down with a loud crash, splinters of woods flew in the air while groans of pain and curses were filling in the room. Amidst all this chaos a young blonde woman wearing an orange and white sailor dress, sat like a serene oasis in the middle of the desert and enjoyed her lemon drink. Her blue eyes were watching the scene that was playing in front of her with some amusement. She did not move when a chair closely followed by a tankard flew at her. Both objects whizzed past her with barely an inch to spare and crashed against the floor behind her, followed by something in between a moan and a whimper.  
  
Turning her head, the blonde looked over her shoulder at the huddled form that was hiding behind the bar. The owner of the Fine Crown was crouched in to a ball, with a mixture of fear and pain in his face. Neither woke any form of sympathy for her, his safety had been guaranteed and he was also to be compensated for all the damage done, not that he deserved the latter considering that his greed was what put him in this position to begin with.  
  
The man moved slightly trying to crawl out through the backdoor, but the girl cleared her throat and stared pointedly at him and he obediently stilled. Satisfied that the man was not going to move, the girl turned her attention back to the tavern room and the fighting group.  
  
There was a young woman with short blue hair dressed in a similar sailor suit, though hers was blue and white. The girl was of a shorter and slender built, with a youthful look on her face. Her delicate built was deceiving however as her assailant found out. The man, at least twice her built, tried to ram his fist into her but she quickly stepped to one side as she grabbed hold of his wrist and twisted it. Since he was already overbalanced, the girl quickly shifted her foot and swiped her assailant's feet from under him. The man went crashing down; bringing with him one of the two tables that were still left standing in the room.  
  
Glad to see that her friend was doing fine on her own, the blonde turned her attention to another one of her friends. Dressed in a red and white sailor dress, her build was the same as the blonde except that she was as dark as the other was light. Her amethyst eyes were shining with an inner fire as she fought two brawny fighters. She moved with swiftness as she blocked their attacks and counterattacked. Where the blue-haired woman moved like a dancer, this girl moved with swift assuredness that looked both dangerous and beautiful at the same time.  
  
There was however nothing graceful about the way the last woman in their party fought. While the other two fought at one side of the room, this one had the other half all to herself along with four attackers. Much taller than any of the other girls, she wore a green and white sailor suit and her dark curly hair in a long pony tail. Her green eyes flashed like lightning as she bashed at her opponents. Blood and teeth were flying as much as tankards and wood splinters where she fought.  
  
Realizing that they were not going to stand a chance against her individually, the four attackers signaled between them to attack as one. The other two women who had just neutralized their opponents moved to their friends assistant but halted in their tracks when the blonde spoke up.  
  
''No, let Jupiter handle it.''  
  
The two gave her a startled look. ''But Venus there's four of them.'' The black haired girl pointed out.  
  
''I'm well aware of that Mars. Why don't you and Mercury join me here for a drink while our comrade takes care of the thugs? '' Then in a lower voice, she added. ''Trust me I know what I'm doing.'' Her blue eyes were no longer amused but serious and cool as she watched Sailor Jupiter.  
  
Recognizing their leader at work, the other two sailor senshi followed their orders and sat down on either side Venus.  
  
The fight was a short and ugly one. Jupiter was strong, much stronger than the three of them, but even with her sailor powers enhanced, those thugs were all very strong men and despite being nearly six feet tall, they towered over her by nearly a full head. She had however one other thing in her favor and that was her speed. Moving with a lightning swiftness she used one attacker to feint off the blow of another while she moved in on the little openings that she saw with a hit and a kick. In the end though she got tired of all the playing around and yelled, ''Jupiter thunder crush!''  
  
A big bolt of lightning struck in the middle the group of men sending them crashing in all four directions. When the light faded away from the room, the four thugs were lying unconscious on the floor.  
  
''Well, how was that?'' Jupiter asked her friends as she dusted her gloved hands, ignoring the slight throbbing in her knuckles.  
  
''Not bad. You could have made it in less time if you weren't playing with those last two.'' Venus accessed, tapping her fingers lightly against full lips.  
  
''I know that you want to vent out some frustration, but was that last one really necessary?'' Mars asked and tapped lightly with her red shoes at the nearest limp form. The man was sporting a big bruise over nearly half of his face.  
  
''You could have started a fire in this place.'' Mercury admonished lightly and tapped lightly against her mini computer, which she brought around everywhere, trying to scan for any damages.  
  
''That's Mars' area not mine. Besides I'm far to skilled to let that happen.'' Jupiter said with a shrug.  
  
''Still you shouldn't use your powers without necessity. Accidents can easily happen and there are too many innocent people around here.''  
  
''Sound advice, Mercury and point taken.'' Trying to prevent an argument that might come up, Venus quickly changed the subject. ''Jupiter since this is your jurisdiction you handle the questioning.''  
  
At the reasoning tone in Venus' voice, Jupiter quickly tapped down on the anger and annoyance that was building in her and turned back towards the room. She decided to head for the other half of the area where Mercury and Mars had been fighting in, knowing that the chances of finding someone still capable of giving answers would be there.  
  
Her prey turned out to be the beefy bearded man that Mercury had neutralized last. The man was just slightly groggy and sporting a couple of bruises, nothing fancy as Mercury was a gentle soul who did not believe in hurting people unless it was absolutely essential.  
  
After a few rude shakings the man opened his eyes and stared groggily up at a pair of stormy green eyes framed by a green mask.  
  
''Alright scum. Where can I find Archer?'' The woman demanded.  
  
The man stared up silently at her with a sneer on his face. The sneer was quickly wiped off his face when he got the air knocked out of his lungs.  
  
''You had better give me more than the silent treatment or I will start to get nasty with you.'' The woman told him coldly.  
  
When he still kept quiet she took hold of one hand and twisted. He cried out in pain and his eyes crossed over. From out of the corner of his eyes he saw one of the three other women shift her feet restlessly, he tried to catch her eye but his vision was blurred and he could only look in that general direction.  
  
''Don't even try pleading for sympathy, pal. You're not getting any here. Right now you are my prisoner and you better start answering my question or I'm going to start breaking your fingers one by one and I can assure you I won't even care for finesse.'' The woman in front of him told him with a pleasant conversational voice.  
  
When none of the other women moved or spoke to his aid, the man realized that help was not going to come from there. He tried for another tactic.  
  
''You can't do this to me.'' The man wheezed out through clenched teeth. ''I am a citizen of Jupiter and the kingdom law says I have a right to trial.''  
  
''Well aren't you just the lucky one then. I don't think we have been introduced yet. I'm Sailor Jupiter,'' the man's eyes widened slightly at that. ''And in case you don't know what that means let me inform you. I am the guardian of planet Jupiter and as such the only one who can outrank me here is the Princess of Jupiter. Since she is not around to tell me otherwise well that has just made me the judge, jury and executioner around here.''  
  
At those last words any color that had been left on the man's face drained away and his eyes widened with a sickening horror. He had worked in this business long enough to read people's faces and he could see from the look in her eyes that she was dead serious about it. He was not going to get a fair trial at all. Damn it, this was not part of the deal! He had been told that even should the sailor senshi come after him they were nothing more than mere girls, too tender and softhearted to get tough on you.  
  
''Look, lady. I'm just a messenger. There's no need for this. I'm sure we can work something out here.''  
  
''Glad to see I didn't knock all of the common sense from your head.'' Jupiter murmured. ''Now where's Archer?''  
  
''I don't know.''  
  
Jupiter growled. The man quickly raised his hands in the air.  
  
''I swear! I swear, I really don't know. But I'll tell you everything I do know and I'm sure you will be able to use it to track him down. Please, spare me.''  
  
''Jupiter, it won't hurt to listen him out.'' A voice said from the back.  
  
Seeing his chance, the man immediately jumped on it. He has regained enough of his vision back to locate the woman who spoke and turn to her. ''Yes, yes. I can help you'' The man spoke to the woman dressed in white and orange sailor dress, somehow sensing that she was the leader among them. He then tried to further push his luck ''But you have to promise that you'll let me go without putting me away.''  
  
''Perhaps you do not comprehend the situation but we are the ones giving the shots around here. You aren't exactly in a position to demand anything.'' The woman told him dryly and leaning back on the bar.  
  
''I'd rather be dead than be in prison, they say it's worse than hell. ''  
  
''Spill out what you know then. We'll decide whether or not your information is worth your life.'' Jupiter told him curtly.  
  
''Promise the charges will be dropped.''  
  
''Fine, we'll ignore the little drug fest you had going on here when we came in, but now our patience is wearing thin and unless you start talking I'm going to turn Jupiter loose on you.''  
  
With those words Jupiter tightened her grip on him. She was wearing a deadly look in her eyes and fearing for his life, the man spluttered out everything that he knew.  
  
Archer was a man who was very suspicious of his surroundings and only two people knew where he was. One was Bear, a huge ugly looking mercenary with a violent streak, the other was Rogan, fair looking, with a very cruel streak especially when it came to hurting women. They were Archer's right and left hand men. The only time Archer would personally make an appearance was if the stakes were particularly high.  
  
As it happened, he had accidentally listened in on a conversation between Rogan and Bear. Something big was being planned. One that would give them huge amount of money. He did not know what it was, only that it would happen in a few months and it was big enough that Archer was personally going to lead the raid.  
  
''I don't know about Rogan, but Bear is very fond of drinking. You will be able to find him in the seediest places in the cities. He loves to fight in the Death Tournaments.''  
  
''That's impossible. The Death Tournaments have been banned from this galaxy in over two hundred years.'' Mercury interrupted him.  
  
''That's the official status. But word has it that it was started up again over fifty years ago by a ruler and has been live and kicking ever since.''  
  
''Who runs the place?''  
  
The man opened his mouth to reply. So far since they had started the interrogation he had been very helpful in giving his answers. No matter who phrased the question he quickly jumped to reply. But before he could reply to this one, Jupiter interrupted him. ''Never mind that. We'll deal with that market later on, right now we're after Archer.''  
  
Mercury opened her mouth to say something but Mars put a hand on her arm and silently quieted her. Sensing an undercurrent the man quickly filed away this information to the back of his mind. He was sure he would be able to make use of it if he was captured again by his employers.  
  
Clearing his throat he turned to Jupiter. She had released her hold on him but she still stood near him enough to roughen him up if he so much as dallied with his answers. ''I don't know much about the Death Tournaments, but my suggestion would for you to track down Bear. He is sure to lead you to Archer, Rogan is too slick. Bear is a bit arrogant and sometimes he blunders because he thinks himself invisible.'' The fact that it was Bear who had set him up for this fall was just a bonus for him. ''That is all I know. Can I go now?''  
  
Jupiter studied him for a long while silently. Then she said, ''Venus?''  
  
The woman in question shook her head indicating that she had no further questions. The man sighed in relief and prepared to leave but Jupiter took of his shoulder. ''Did we give you permission to leave?''  
  
''But I have already answered all of your questions. You promised you'd let me go once I told you everything I knew.'' The man protested.  
  
''We said you would not be charged with the smuggling of illegal drugs, but there is still the matter of aiding in the assassination of king Gregor and queen Magda that needs to be attended to.''  
  
''I d.don't know what you're talking about. I had n...nothing to d...do with that!'' The man said but panic was showing in his face. Seeing that there was no mercy from the green soldier, the man turned to the others in the room and pleaded for their aid. ''You promised! You promised to release me. Are you going to go back on your word? You are the sailor senshi!'' The man shouted.  
  
Mars and Venus looked at him with unreadable expressions, only Mercury had the grace to look away, but the man had already established that she was the weakest of the four and had the least power of saying. None spoke up to his aid.  
  
From behind him, he heard Jupiter put on her link and ask for patrol to come. Panicked the man tried to run. Desperation lent him extra power, he managed to dislodge Jupiter but he was quickly ganged up by the other three and soon he was captured again.  
  
Jupiter kept the struggling man on the floor. ''I can take care of things here. You guys can return, I'll join you later.'' She told her friends.  
  
There was no protest from them.  
  
Venus nodded her head. ''See you later then. Mars. Mercury.''  
  
Turning without another word she left the shambles of once used to be known as a respectable tavern. Her two friends and fellow senshi flanked her on either side. They left through the back door and once Mercury had signaled that the coast was clear they quickly shimmered back to their ordinary selves.  
  
Well, more or less ordinary selves. They looked the way they had before they had transformed and that meant Mina was wearing a short yellow dress cut off at the knees with high leather boots and a fine thick golden belt with a slim sword resting against her hips. The outfit was common for a woman of the upper class or a rich merchant's daughter. Ami on the other hand was dressed long gray dress of coarse material fit for a servant and Rei was in the green robe of a monk from Ceres.  
  
Mina looked at her friends and they silently nodded their heads. Rei pulled up the hood of the robe to completely cover her face, with her hands hidden within the folds of her long sleeves and the loose fitting clothes, it was not easy to distinguish her sex. Without a word she stepped out to the busy street followed by Mina and with Amy taking up the rear.  
  
With the harvest festival coming up soon the sight of a rich woman accompanied by a maid and a servant of Ceres, the Guardian Spirit of Growth was a common sight out in the city, the main reason they had chosen this disguise in the first place. People would assume that Mina was on a pilgrimage praying for a good harvest, like so many other young women.  
  
After all, the identities of the sailor senshi were still a secret. As far as people knew, the princess of Jupiter and the ambassador of the Moon Kingdom were still in the palace preparing for the Harvest festivities. Officially Rei was still locked up in the seclusion of the Holy Shrine meditating while Ami was on a mission on Neptune with Helios.  
  
Having walked over ten blocks and backtracked several times to make sure that they were not followed, they entered a small temple of Ceres. Hidden behind the screens of one of the three prayer rooms, Rei turned the hidden panel and opened up the door to a dark passage, silently they moved in. The moment Ami, the last of them was inside, the stone wall silently moved back into place.  
  
There was a clicking sound as pieces of flint were knocked against each other and soon the fire that Mina had started up brightened the darkness. Lifting the torch with a grimace, Mina murmured. ''I wished they had some Lunar stones. The smell of this torch is going to linger in my hair.''  
  
''Don't be stupid, torches don't smell that bad.'' Rei told her.  
  
Mina sniffed. ''Easy for you to say, pyro. You spent all your days in front of that great fire of yours that the smell is permanently stuck in your hair. Your nose is probably too damaged for you to smell anything.''  
  
''Well if you didn't spend all your money on those ridiculous things you call perfumes, maybe your nose wouldn't be so offended by ordinary smells like the rest of us mortals.'' Rei told her dryly.  
  
''They are not ridiculous, I'll have you know that they are the made of the most exquisite flowers, the kind that my mother has in her garden.''  
  
''Then why don't you just pluck hers and save yourself the money?''  
  
''Because those have aesthetic value while the ones grown outside of -''  
  
''How can the two of you be so lighthearted and joke around like this?'' Ami burst out interrupting Mina.  
  
The three of them stopped and Mina and Rei looked at Ami with a startled look. The usual quiet Ami did not show a temper tantrum like this often.  
  
''How can you act like nothing is wrong? Don't you realize what just happened?'' Ami demanded waving at the road behind them.  
  
''Ami,'' Rei began gently seeing how upset her friend was. ''Mako was a bit hard but it was necessary.''  
  
''No it wasn't. She was completely out of line back there. The methods she used.It was, well. cruel! That's not Mako at all!''  
  
Rei sighed. ''Yes it was a bit harsh of her. But, Ames, you have to realize that when it comes to it, Mako, won't be her ordinary self for a long time, Archer, killed her parents. It has been three years, three long years without her having received any kind of justice, its only natural that she has a lot of pent up anger inside.''  
  
''I know that, Rei. Mako was close to her parents and their death was a hard blow to her. But I never realized it would have changed her this much. She was a completely different person just then, I did not recognize her at all.'' Ami's eyes were large and worried, the aqua blueness shining with a slight fear.  
  
Wanting to comfort her, Rei reached out an arm and put it around her friend's slender shoulders. ''We've all changed these past few years. Well, with the exception of Mina here. Nothing can change our leader's bubbling and cheerful attitude.'' Rei added with a slight smile towards their blond friend.  
  
''Hey! I have changed. I'm a lot more serious now.'' At the look from the other two gave her, Mina pouted. ''Well slightly more.''  
  
At that comment, Ami smiled and reached out her other arm to wrap around her friend. They did not say anything because words were not needed between them. They shared a bond that was much deeper; a bond that had been forged throughout their years of friendship. Instead they only shared a smile.  
  
The mood was much lighter after that, but the gloom was not totally gone. They had all touched upon a subject that they all had avoided speaking of since the sailor senshis had been reunited.  
  
Mina did not say it out aloud because she did not want to worry the others. She feared however that if Mako's change was not temporary it would most definitely become a problem and avoiding it like they had today would not make matters go away.  
  
Today had been their first mission as a whole group ever since Queen Selenity disbanded the four of them three years ago. Part of Mina's job today was to evaluate her comrades to see how fit they were in fighting as well as cooperation. She was happy to see that despite the years, her friends were as fit as ever, actually they were better than ever. Their fighting skills had honed out and where they before had acted on as much skills as instincts they now had the ability to act by using their knowledge as well. What made Mina even happier was the fact that they were able to cooperate so well without even communicating with each other. When the fighting had started at the tavern, without being told, the three girls had immediately divided the fighters off between them, balancing each other's skills off.  
  
From what she had seen today, Mina did not fear any problems in their future fights with enemies. The years have given them the knowledge of their strengths and weaknesses. Now all that was left was to see whether or not their friendship was still as strong, considering their changes.  
  
Rei was right, Mako was not been the only one that has changed during the three years, they all had though Mako's change did seem more obvious. Today she fought recklessly and a slight hardness that had not been there in the gentle tomboy they had grown to love. It was as if she was trying to inflict some of the pain that she was feeling onto her opponents. Mina only hoped that given time and once Archer was captured and sentenced, the old Mako would return. All they could do at the moment was show some understanding and support as her friend.  
  
It was also obvious that while being under Helios' tutelage sharpened Ami's analytical mind and made her a very skillful healer, the lack of social life had turned the already quiet and withdrawn girl to become even more of a loner. While a lot more quieter than she used to be Ami was also more subject to tantrums, as Mina noticed earlier. Mina knew that she would have to work on loosening Ami up a bit. Maybe once they get back to the Moon, she could introduce some guys to Ami, she already had a few in mind that might suit her shy friend quite nicely. Actually, Mina imagined she would enjoy setting the whole project up and putting it in motion. She could enlist the aid of Rei and Mako as well and it would be just like the old times, except that now they would be spying on Ami instead of Mako and it would be with glee instead of envy.  
  
Rei was going to be a problem however, Mina was sure about that. She never found out what the incident was about a month after her friend had arrived back home. Whatever it was, Rei refused to talk about it, but for Mina to be able to have felt it all the way back at the Moon, she knew that the experience must have been traumatic. Though Rei appeared to be her old normal self although now she seemed to be more in control of her clairvoyant abilities. There was also a shadow in her eyes; a look of sadness that appeared in those violet depths whenever she thought nobody was looking. Maybe Mina could ask her aunt about that when they got back.  
  
The celebrations for the queen's thirty fifth birthday was coming up in a few months and there were a lot of preparations that needed to be made before then. The presence of all four of them were required, there was plenty of time to set the things in motion. Plus they needed to find out about what Archer was after. Mina suspected that it had a lot to do with the ball that would be held at the Silver Palace. It was the only huge enough affair that time, that would catch the attention of a man like Archer; all of the royalties of the solar system would be there: even Earth.  
  
Mina wondered if her wayward cousin would make an appearance. Surely enough time had passed to make her want to come home?  
  
Well she would find out soon enough. In a month the rulers of Earth were having their thirtieth anniversary and Mina would attend as the ambassador of Moon. It would be a great opportunity for her to find out just how her cousin was doing and whether or not she had in the three years, changed like the rest of them. 


	13. Chapter 11 Arrogance

AN: Here's the latest chapter of Destinies for those of u that have been waiting for it. Sorry for the late update. Writer's block has been a real pain. 

A big thank u to all of u who have reviewed or messaged me. And a special thanks to my beta charliechaplin2 for all her help. (Ur the best, CC2"! ^-^)

Usual disclaimer applies.

11. Arrogance

"Tell me again whose bright idea this was?" Uranus growled through clenched teeth while she used her fist to slam against her opponent's face. Bones broke under her strength and the bandit cried out in pain. As he bent over to clutch as his bleeding nose, Uranus took the opportunity to aim a kick in his middle sending him soaring into the air. The sight of him flying ten feet above the ground made her give off a grim smile. She hoped she managed to at least crack a couple of ribs if not break them with that kick. That along with the broken nose might make the idiot think more carefully about changing career. 

"Ask the idiot hopping around over there." Nephrite spoke to her right and blocked the attacks of his two opponents with his spear. With deft movements of his wrists he managed to hit aside the edge of an axe, knock away a hooked knife aiming for his throat and still point the head towards the blonde man in gray-blue uniform that was currently dodging a group of angry bandits by teleporting back and forth.

"Hey I heard that you know!" Jadeite called back as he appeared behind two bandits and knocked their heads together before teleporting away just as a sword came arching down where his head had just been. "How come whenever something goes wrong everyone points at me?" 

"Because you're the only one arrogant enough to come up with hare-brained idea like this." Nephrite shot back. He pirouetted away from a pair of slashing swords and stabbed one of his attackers in the process. "Six against a hundred. Knew there would be a reason for the rest of us to regret him sleeping through his math lessons." He muttered under his breath.

"Need I remind you that this time it was somebody's toy that went wrong?"

"Hey I warned you the devise was not ready yet for such a grand test, and I specifically remember saying that a slight miscalculations might occur." Zoicite defended his creation like a proud father defending his child. He had teamed himself with Moon since they both favored missile weapons. Standing ground closer to the edge they were doing a great job of keeping the enemies cleared. 

"_Slight_ miscalculation?! I told you to take us _near_ the bandit camp you teleported us right on _top_ of them!" Jadeite pointed out with annoyance as he lashed out with his sword and took down a bandit.

He could not believe his bad luck. What had begun like a great idea had turned from bad to worse. A testing of Zoicite's newest invention, the radar, had somehow managed to locate the latest camp of the bandit groups that had been raiding the countryside lately. It had seemed like a good plan to send out a scouting team to gather information since they knew from previous experience that the bandits only stayed a few days at the camp before breaking up. It seemed like a convenient time to try out another one of Zoicite's invention. He had not counted on this!

Jadeite threw a glance towards Moon and Zoicite and was relieved to see that while outnumbered they were doing well. Zoicite did not really worry him, knowing full well that when it came to that guy, appearances were most deceiving. He was vicious and not afraid to use dirty methods to win, most probably he could teach the scum here a lesson or two, Jadeite thought with a grim smile remembering a particularly painful experience during training. Moon was a wholly different matter though. Despite the fact that she was an able fighter with powerful attacks, the woman had a tendency to always end up in trouble of some kind. 

The sound was the only warning he got, pulling his attention back and swinging up with his sword Jadeite saved himself just in time from the edge of an axe which was arching towards him threatening to open his head. The sound of metal meeting metal made a loud ringing noise deafening the battle around them. While Jadeite had been successful enough to block the attack he was still not able deflate it completely. With their weapons locked a battle of strength took place. 

Jadeite looked at his attacker and was slightly surprised that he had to tilt his head quite back to be able to see his face. Being six feet high he was considered quite tall and yet the man standing before him made Jadeite feel like a dwarf. Arms the size of a tree trunk protruded from shoulders twice as wide as Jadeite's. The lower part of his large face was mostly covered by black beard, the upper was completely clean-shaven, he did not even have eyebrows, much less hair. A large ugly scar started from the top of his head and ran like the sign of lightning down his left eye missing his lips by an inch to stop at his neck. It was the eyes however that caught Jadeite's attention. Those dark eyes were shining with a ferocious light much like an animal gone mad, and it sent cold chills along his spine. 

__

Great, the big cahuna has decided to join in too. Can my luck get any worse? Jadeite thought sarcastically. 

There was definitely no mistake who his opponent was. After all how many seven feet tall bald headed bandits with lightning scar could there be running around the countryside? 

The battle around him forgotten, Jadeite tightened his grip on the hilt. The bandit leader was so determined to sink the edge of his axe into Jadeite that he could taste it in the air. While he was a strong man himself, the years of hard training as well as the extra strength given to him through his transformation, Jadeite could still feel the muscles in his arms straining under the force as they both fought to win in their weapon lock. Sweat beads gathered around his temple but he did not dare to loosen his hold. Yet from the pain screaming in his arm, he long gave out on using just one hand to hold his sword against the onslaught, Jadeite was not sure he would be able to stand forth much longer. 

Damn, he needed to come up with something. At the moment all his concentration was focused on holding the axe at bay. It would not be a simple solution like teleporting himself into safety since considering Bear's strength time would be of a crucial issue here. To some it might seem like he took himself from one place to another within a blink of an eye but doing that still required a mental preparation on his part and the complete relaxation of his body during that millisecond. He doubted however that he could risk loosening his arms enough to concentrate. Bear's axe would cut him in two before he was able to teleport away. Unless…

A wild thought occurred to him. What if he tried that trick? He got the idea the other day after the training where he had suffered a severe and humiliating loss to Kunzite. He had never tried it before but it really should not be impossible considering that his powers were growing lately and had meant to do it the next time they trained but he supposed now was a good time as any to try to see if he can use more powers. 

Like he did everything else once his mind was made up, Jadeite dove right into it. Before he could let himself think twice or consider the consequences he took a step backwards. The axe descended. It hit something in midair; the shield that Jadeite had created. White sparkle flew. Pain exploded in Jadeite's mind at the impact and he fought against the emotion and concentrated on his teleportation by fixing a mental image of himself in a different area and. 

The world angled and turned. Spots appeared in front of Jadeite's eyes as his surroundings stopped moving in a vertigo way. Jadeite lashed out and only in the last second did he gather enough of his wits to twist his wrist so that he hilt instead of the blade hit against the back of the bandits head. The large man toppled like a tree to the ground. The sound he gave off was loud enough to stop the fighting as they all stared in shocked silence. 

Jadeite hardly paid any attention however as he fell limply to the ground. Standing on all four he fought against the nausea, only barely registering Nephrite's shout. "Look out!"

Instinctively he rolled to the side. A burning pain lashed against his left arm before he was able to deflate the attack that would have given him serious if not fatal injury. Twisting his wrist he smoothly ran his sword through his attacker's heart. The man only had time to register surprise on his dark eyes before the light left them and he fell over Jadeite's sword. 

Two swishing sounds were heard flying past Jadeite on each side of him and metal clanged to the ground as Zoicite's crystal and Moon's tiara disarmed the few men who had gathered their wits enough to think of resuming the battle.

"Alright drop your weapons or join your friends." Jadeite ordered with deadly calm seizing the opportunity of stunned silence. From behind him he could hear his friend moving into position to lend his threat strength. There was the distinctive crackling sound of energy that told him Uranus was gathering power in her hands and the aqua shimmering colors told him Neptune was doing the same. A hoof stamped impatiently as Taurus prepared to attack. 

The remaining soldiers stared at their fallen leader, then at the man who was still impaled on Jadeite's sword, turning, they ran and scattered in all direction. 

Jadeite swore and tried to run after them, only to remember the deadweight he had on him. "After them before they all escape!" He ordered as he put his boot on the dead man's chest and heaved with all his might. 

His companion stared at each other and shrugging their shoulders started running after the fleeing bandits. 

"Stay where you are!" Nephrite countermanded the only one who had not moved, except to un-summon his guardian. 

They all stopped in their tracks and stared from one man to the other. Uranus was wearing a scowl on her face. She did not like to leave any loose strings and to watch thirty or more bandits roaming around the countryside was definitely too many. Neptune put a reassuring hand on her partner to calm her down; her eyes were however watching the two men steadily. Moon watched them with worry. Zoicite was the only one who found the humor in this situation and rolled his eyes while shaking his head with a grin on his youthful face. 

Ignoring the dark scowl he was getting from Jadeite, Nephrite crouched beside the bandit leader and pulled out the metal cuffs; another of Zoicite's invention; and started restraining him. 

"This is enemy territory and we don't know what's out there, we can be running into a trap. Be glad with what we got and let's just get out of here. We're lucky to even be alive." He did not look at Jadeite but the point was not missed. He started rummaging through the bandit's clothes in search of hidden weapons. He tried not to guess what the dark sticky thing he found in the man's pocket was. The odor coming from it did not speak highly of it. 

Jadeite's fist clenched, the hard metal band of his sword cutting harshly into his palm. Because the man had made sense Jadeite was left with nothing to do but to swallow his pride. Slamming the sword back into his scabbard he took out his communicator.

"Headquarter this is Blue Two. We've just apprehended the bandit leader and some of his men in sector 42J3H. Send a squad down here to pick them up." He barked.

There was a static sound and then a voice said, "Uh ...Roger, sir." Jadeite ignored the surprise in the other man's voice and closed the communicator. "It shouldn't take more than an hour for the squad to come from the nearest garrison."

"I'll stay behind. You guys can teleport ahead back to the castle. I think Sir Cowen will be most eager to question this guy." Nephrite nudged the unconscious giant with his feet.

Jadeite looked at him with unreadable eyes but before he could open his mouth to tell his friend that they were all staying until backup came, Zoicite had already voiced his opinion. "That's insane. You can't stay here alone! What if those scum comes back with backup of their own? I'm staying too."

Uranus snorted. "As if you to pups can handle them all by yourself. Jade, you, Neptune and Moon head back and the three of us will hang back."

"But-" Moon objected. 

"Don't worry. Besides His Highness and lord Kunzite should be returning anytime now. If they can't find any of us at the castle there will be hell to pay. I don't know about you but I'm not looking forward to eight hours of training in the Pit and that's most certainly where Kunzite will send us." Uranus winked.

"Very well, see you back at the castle." Jadeite told them curtly after a moment of silence. Walking ahead so that he stood to their main prisoner, Jadeite grabbed the small gadget Zoicite handed him and began to punch in the coordinates that would take them back to Zoicite's lab. When Moon and Neptune remained where they were, he arched one tawny brow at them and they started moving; Moon with hurried steps and Neptune with easy grace.

They disappeared in a flash of light. 

"You should give him a break you know." Zoicite told this friend as they resumed tying up the rest of the prisoners, those few that were still alive anyway. 

Nephrite grunted in response. 

Refusing to take the hint, Zoicite continued to broach the subject though he made the effort to keep his voice low so that Uranus who was busy shuffling dead bodies on the other side could not hear. "Whether you like it or not he is the second-in-command and having you countermanding his orders like that in front of others undermines that position."

It was only a year ago that the four of them were promoted to their current ranks of Royal Generals. It gave them military authority that was only beneath that of Commander General which was the highest military officer of Earth. When Kunzite was announced first in command, it did not come as a surprise to them. Jadeite becoming the second however did, since Nephrite was more experienced than the younger man. They knew that politics was involved there since a lot of the High Lords would never approve of an earl taking orders from a mere Squire. Instead Nephrite was put as the third in command with Zoicite being the youngest and least skilled soldier became the fourth. Zoicite did not mind since he knew his skills were in his brains and not his brawn. How Nephrite felt however, was becoming more and more obvious lately.

"I wouldn't have had to if he only pulled his act together." Nephrite bit out and pushed the unconscious bandit he just tied up back on the ground. Zoicite winced at the impact.

"Jade might come off a bit eager sometimes but his heart is in the right place. And his ideas are sound; some just need to be worked out a bit." He tried to placate the annoyed warrior.

"That's just the problem though; they shouldn't have to be worked out. He's just too impulsive and too damned arrogant. He always thinks that things would work out for the best and acts without thinking. So far he's been lucky but I'm telling you one of these days his luck is going to run out and he'll get himself killed and us along with him." 

Zoicite stopped what he was doing and grinned. 

"What the hell are you looking like a jackass for?" Nephrite asked with annoyance. 

"So you _do_ care about him. I was starting to wonder about that with the constant disagreements between the two of you." Zoicite mused his green eyes dancing with merriment.

Nephrite flushed an angry red. "Shut up pony tail." 

Zoicite's snorted. "That's coming from a guy who spends more time taking care of his hair than his sword." 

He ducked at the fist that swung his way, his small frame lending agility to his movements. "Come now is that the best you could do?" He taunted. "Moon can give me a better workout than that." He barely had time to say that before he had to duck again this time it was not Nephrite's fist but his sword. There was distinctive sound that told him he was not quick enough. Eyes narrowing he growled, "Hey watched it. I just had it trimmed this week."

"Oh really? I think you missed a spot." 

The sword came again. After ducking again, Zoicite looked up with a cold gleam in his green eyes. "Alright you asked for it." He put up his palm and energy started to gather and form. 

Suddenly his eyes crossed as pain exploded in his head. Loosing his concentration the crystal forming in his hands dissolved and he put up his hand to his injured head. Through pain-filled vision he saw the stone that was the cause of his misery. It was the same size as his fist.

__

"Ouch, what the Hell was that for?!" Both men demanded with angry red faces of the woman in sailor outfit who was whistling an upbeat tune while she carried a bandit over one shoulder and one under the arm. 

"The two of you looked like you could cool it off. Since Neptune is not around to dose you with water I thought I would do it my way." She told them good naturedly. 

"And what is that? Opening up our brains?" Nephrite muttered angrily as he massaged his scalp. 

Zoicite was doing the same too and when he saw the palm of his hand slightly tinged with blood he growled under his breath and lunged for the woman only to have his breath knocked out of him the second time as Nephrite grabbed hold of him.

"Easy there." The other man warned.

"Bite me." Zoicite snarled. 

"Sorry you're not my type. But she might take you up on the offer if you insist." Nephrite whispered softly and tightened his grip on the younger and slenderer man. He grunted at a well aimed elbow. Damn, for a scrawny guy he really fought dirty. Still Zoicite was his friend and despite their differences he was not about to let the guy commit suicide. "Remember what she did to us the last time we took her up on the offer." He hissed. 

He was glad to see that the warning helped to calm Zoicite down. Once he was sure the man could reign in his temper, Nephrite let him go. 

"You're right this is not the time." Zoicite told him with a calm voice and turned his back on the woman. Then with an evil glint in his eyes he added, "Much better to wait and not get caught."

Nephrite choked recalling how vindictive his friend could be. "Just make sure I'm no where near her when you do." 

"Hey, no worries. I owe you one."

"Don't mention it. Though had it been Jade I might not have bothered. Maybe she could have knocked some sense to him."

Zoicite shook his head. "I doubt it. She has a soft spot for the guy." 

Nephrite snorted. "She and the rest of the female population on this planet."

"Now let's not exaggerate here." Zoicite told him with a sly grin. "I have on very good authority that it's a lie."

Nephrite made a mocking act of showing disgust. "Please must you always throw your conquest around like that? From the way the two of you hop around from one woman's bed to another I'm really wondering how the hell you can fit in training as well."

"It's all in the planning. If you want I can give you a few pointers."

Nephrite gave him a dirty look. He might not live like a monk but he did not believe that he was God's gift to the female population either. 

"I'm really surprised Kunzite hadn't called you guys out on the carpet by now." 

The younger man snorted. "Don't let the polite surface fool you. Our leader was no boy scout in his youth. I could tell you stories about him that would make Jade and me look like choir boys." 

Despite berating himself that he was not a woman and this was certainly none of his business, Nephrite's interest was piqued. "Oh really?"

Knowing that he had him on the hook, Zoicite smiled. "Not today bro. Maybe another time over a game of dice?" 

"No thanks. You cheat."

"Do not."

"Really? Then how come I always loose then?" Nephrite challenged.

"Coz your an unlucky son of a –"

"Don't even go there." The warning was said in a low voice and all the more potent. Zoicite swallowed the rest of the phrase he was going to use. It was not often he and Neph could bicker like this companionably; he kept of forgetting that Nephrite was not like his other buddies when it came to calling them names. Names that were used without heat behind them could not be applied to this guy. When it came to his parentage, Nephrite was very sensitive. It was a subject that was completely taboo. 

Clearing his voice, Zoi said, "Anyway I'm not the only one you loose to. I haven't seen you win Jade so far."

"That guy relies on his luck not manipulated dices."

"True enough." Zoicite muttered under his breath. He had yet to win against the guy in a game. 

"Trust me no man is ever that lucky. One of these days the guys luck is gonna run out and we're going to be standing there with our pants down." Nephrite told him over his shoulder as he stripped one of the bandits of his weapons. 

Zoicite shuddered at that image. Naked women were one thing but he did not want to think of his friends without their clothes. "Are we back to that again?" Zoicite shook his head and started rummaging through the pockets of one of the corpse. A brass ring with a strange claw came up. Frowning Zoi threw it on the pile he had already gathered up for him to study in further detail once he got back to his lab.

"Honestly Neph, I really don't understand the antagonism you have towards him these days. You never used to question him like this, hell I even remember when we were younger you used to love his pranks. You even joined us."

Nephrite sighed and wiped the sweat from his forehead. Carrying deadweights around was sure more problematic than beating them senseless. "That's the problem, isn't it? We're not kids anymore. Jadeite has still problems to accept that truth. He's acting as the same juvenile teenager he was five years ago. Doesn't he understand that the elders will never take him serious this way? He will never advance any further than this. Nor will he get any respect."

Zoicite shrugged. "He doesn't need to do anything to prove himself. He's already second in command of the personal guards of the heir to Earth. Besides as the grandson of Grand Duke Randion he's got all the respect he could want."

"I'm talking about true respect, a soldier's respect. I refuse to believe that Jadeite could settle for something as cheap as respect because of his social position."

Zoicite made a non-comment sound. He understood Nephrite's feelings but he could not totally agree with him. It was easy for someone like Nephrite to scorn social position. He's spent all his life ignoring them and mostly done whatever he pleased. The only thing that he had craved was the respect of a soldier. To be proven a good soldier. But for Zoicite it was different. He was born into that society, with the only exception being that he was a scandal's child; he could never belong to it. He might not envy Jadeite's position as a soldier but he certainly envied the man his position in society, a position he could very well have had if only he had been born within wedlock. 

Still Jadeite was his friend and one that had always been there for him despite Zoicite's past and loyalty insisted he defend his friend. "Hey don't give him such a hard time. There's more to him than just his easy going attitude. Unlike us, things have always come easy for him and that has made it unnecessary for him to worry. As long as that devil luck of his holds out we shouldn't worry."

"Oh yeah and what happens when it runs out? Pull up our pants and run for it?" 

Zoicite winced. 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

In the great Terran Palace Jadeite was walking along the brightly lit old passage of the Prisoner's Den with a bright grin on his face. On the way, he was greeted by fellow soldiers who called out to him on a great job well done. For each time he received a hearty slap in the back he felt pride soar like euphoria around him, enveloping him in its warmth. Probably because he rarely got praised for any work in this area. 

"You're really popular today." Usagi murmured softly beside him.

"Yeah seems like it." He did not bother to hide the pleasure in his voice nor in his eyes as more people came forward to greet him. 

None paid attention to the slender squire beside him. He was often known as the pale shadow that accompanied the Prince and his four personal Guards. This suited Usagi quite well since, considering her deception, too much attention would not be good for her. Not that she had figured out yet how she could have miraculously pulled off this escapade for THREE WHOLE years with Jadeite, Nephrite and Zoicite being the only ones who knew of her secret, well part secret. All they knew so far is that she was really a girl dressed up as a guy and that she was from the Moon. They still did not know who she was. 

As if a sixth sense told her, Usagi turned her head and was just able to catch a pair of young men turning around the corner heading towards them. Jadeite was not too busy that he could not hear her breath catch. He glanced at whatever it was that had caught her eyes.

The pair made an impressive sight. Both tall and broad-shouldered, one ruggedly handsome with long silver blonde hair and commanding air and the other sinfully gorgeous with his dark looks. The silver haired man was both taller and larger in built than his companion but there was no mistaking who it was that caught the attention with his regal presence. As the two men approached the soldiers along the hallways all straightened and quickly saluted to their liege. 

The young in question took the whole greeting in stride. He flashed them a grin and called out to a few people by name. A small gesture which did not cost him much but that was appreciated a great deal by those greeted personally by him. He made it seem effortless but Jadeite knew personally the kind of harsh training his friend had gone through to learn that while growing up. All part of the protocol of being a prince and future king of Earth. 

"Jade!" Endymion greeted as he reached them. "Heard the rumors even before we reached the palace gates. Nice work." He took Jadeite's hand in a firm grip and pounded him on the back in a friendly and familiar manner. 

Jadeite winced slightly at the force, the muscles on his shoulders still aching from his one-on-one encounter with the giant. The pain did nothing to dim the pleasure he felt at the praise. "Thanks, Dare."

Endymion threw a glance at the slight blonde to Jadeite's left and said with less enthusiasm, "Travis." 

Because he was standing quite close he could sense Usagi's body tense beside him and knowing from experience that temper would brew otherwise, he quickly diverted the attention. "So did the trip go well? You guys came back awfully quick."

"We were only supposed to keep a watch over the excavation. With the news of the capture of the bandit king Bear the need for our presence didn't seem that urgent anymore." Kunzite told him coolly as he joined them. He kept himself slightly behind Endymion, a barely noticeable act of respect for the younger man's position but one would never know from the way he carried himself. Though he nodded his head in greeting to the pair, both felt an invisible string pulling at them making them stand up straighter. "Where is the prisoner?" He asked softly.

Because those silver eyes, currently shrouded and unreadable, were focused on him, Jadeite felt the need to clear his throat before answering. "He's in the Pit." He was referring to the part of the dungeon which had the highest security and where they only held the most dangerous of criminals. 

"Well then shall we take a look at him?" Kunzite suggested. "Highness?" 

Endymion who had been wearing a slight look of puzzlement as he studied the scowling squire, quickly pulled his attention back to business and nodded his ascent and led the way.

Though Kunzite had only formed the invitation to Endymion the look he gave Jadeite and Usagi clearly told them without words that he wanted them to come as well. Seeing their dreams of hot food and rest smoke up into bliss both followed with less enthusiasm down the same hallway they just came from.

As he walked down to the heart of the prison quarters for the second time today, Jadeite did not feel as exalted as he did earlier. Partly because the greetings they had this time were not the same as with the presence of the prince as well as the stern looking lord Kunzite made the soldiers more alert and formal. But mostly because he was worried about his friend.

Jadeite kept throwing glances at Usagi who was walking beside him with a look that was mixture of pout and irritation. From the way his friend in front of him was holding himself, Jadeite knew that Endymion could very much feel those baby blues and he was trying extremely hard not to shift under that uncomfortable gaze. 

It still amazed Jadeite to find his otherwise very sharp friend completely blind to the fact that his squire was in fact a girl in disguise. How a man who rarely missed anything could mistake someone like "Travis" for a guy was completely beyond Jadeite´s imagination. Especially considering how much time they spent together. Ok so he had been fooled for a few months too but he discovered the truth didn't he? 

One thing was sure, despite all her protest of not wanting people to know the truth, Usagi was not happy that Endymion had not discovered it yet. Then again Jadeite could not exactly blame her considering how his friend treated her counterpart. Only a blind man could miss the sparks that flew between those two whenever they met on the battlefields as Endymion and Sailor Moon. It certainly did not speak in Endymion's favor that he turned completely indifferent to her the moment she turned back into wearing shirt and pants instead of tight-fitting top and short skirt. Though for himself Jadeite had to say he preferred the skirt to the pants. 

Grinning slightly, Jadeite entered the cell where their prisoner was kept. The cell was considered one of the largest but with the two guards positioned in there along with the four of them it was crowded, especially since the man chained to the wall was nearly twice the size of them in width and towered above all of them. 

"So this is the famous bandit leader." Endymion mused. "I see they weren't exaggerating about his size." He studied the man most carefully, appreciating the adjustments made by the guards to confine the prisoner. "I have to admit you impress me, Jade. I wouldn't think any of us could take him down single handedly. Kunzite here included."

Jadeite winked at him. "Well as you can see my talents are far more extensive than you guys give me credit for."

Endymion opened his mouth but whatever he was about to say Jadeite never found out since Kunzite beat him to it. "You were just damn lucky." He told him curtly standing beside the prisoner and examining him.

He did not see it but both Endymion and Usagi saw the pleasure leave his eyes at that tone of dismissal. "It had nothing to do with luck." He told the older man and those who knew him could hear the steel behind his voice. "He was just a clumsy giant who could not keep up. Having more brawn doesn't always mean one will come out the winner."

Kunzite ignored him. "Did you catch everyone?" 

"No some of them got away. But Zoi and Neph are bringing in the rest." 

"How many got away?" 

By this time Jadeite jaw was clenched so tightly the muscles on his cheek started to twitch. Fearing he might say something that he would regret later on, Usagi quickly jumped to his help. "About forty got away, sir. But they won't pose any problem now that their leader's gone. The moment lord Jadeite defeated their leader they did not know how to act." 

"Or they could just be putting up an act so they could get out of there safely and rally their forces."

"You think they're up to something?" Endymion asked with a frown. "Who would they follow? From all the reports we had, this Bear over here seems to be the one leading them. All those bandits groups could not even stand each other much less work together. Who is left with enough charisma to lead them?"

Kunzite looked at the unconscious giant, arms folded and one hand scratching his chin absently. "I don't know. But something doesn't make sense. Maybe I'm being paranoid but it seems awfully too easy."

"Trust me there was nothing easy about catching this guy. We were nearly overwhelmed there. If Sailor Moon, Sailor Uranus and Sailor Neptune had not been there I doubt we would have been as lucky." Jadeite told him. 

"Wait, Sailor Moon was there?" At the mentioning of the woman that had haunted his thoughts awake as asleep Endymion's attention riveted back to Jadeite with intensity. "How come you never said anything about that? Where are they now? Did they stay behind with Zoi and Neph?"

Jadeite shook his head, making a thick blonde lock fall over his eyes. He pushed it back with an impatient gesture. "No, they helped me deliver the package," he pointed towards the wall. "And then they pulled their familiar disappearing act." Sensing Usagi's discomfort Jadeite quickly changed the subject. "As you can see there was nothing easy about that. It was a combination of power and tactic."

Finally Kunzite turned to face Jadeite. "Just post a few more guards in this cell and double the guards in this area. I don't want anything to happen before we have a chance of questioning our guest." It was the acknowledgement he made to Jadeite's words.

Jadeite gave him a disbelieving look. "You're not actually suggesting that they might come and rescue him? Come on we have the best security in the planet available here and the securities are even tighter with the celebration tonight. There's no way they can get in."

Kunzite gave him a withering look. "Just do as you're told." Turning to Endymion he said, "Highness, I was to remind you of the package that you needed to deliver to the Head Master. Considering the tight schedule today and Head Master's passion for his work, I suggest we go see him now."

Endymion still wearing the faraway look that he had worn ever since Sailor Moon was mentioned blinked and looked at the silver-haired general. For anyone else, Endymion seemed to contemplate over Kunzite's suggestion but for Jadeite who knew his friend well, knew that he was fighting the annoyance he felt and that in the end it was once again duty that won when he turned and left the cell. "I'll see you tonight, Jade." He nodded his head absently to Travis. 

Kunzite did not cast them so much as a glance as he swept out of the room, the short cape he wore swirling majestically behind him. 

Jadeite muttered a few choice words under his breath but he knew it had not been low enough when he saw Usagi shoot him a look of shock and color rose up her cheeks as the meaning dawned on her. It made him curse even more though this time mentally. Being so comfortable around her, Jadeite sometimes forgot that there were certain things he shouldn't bring up in her presence because of her total naivety. 

Good thing Haruka was not with them or he would be sporting even more bruises on his body. She was far too protective of Usagi sometimes.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Jade, you think it was wise to leave so little guards?" Usagi asked her friend after having striding quickly for fifteen minutes in silence. She figured it was enough time for him to cool off and safe for her to broach the subject again.

"I increased the guards didn't I?" Jadeite told her over his shoulder without slowing down. 

"Yes, but…." She had to stop and take a break as she half ran to keep up with the blonde general. "But Kunzite said double the guards. You only increased them by a third of the amount. He's not going to be happy when he finds out."

For the first time in a while now, Jadeite flashed her a smile. "Now that's where you're wrong. With the festivity going on tonight knowing Kunzite he's going to have his nose buried in too much business to pay much attention to the situation down at the Dungeon. You know how he loves to pay attention to details and the celebration tonight is one of the biggest events in decades. He will want everything to be perfect."

"Well I imagine it's coz king Galian and Queen Adrienne means very much to him. And it is their day." Usagi said recalling the way the otherwise hard faced general, softened in features whenever he talked to the royal couple. 

"This day is far more important to him than to Endymion and _he's_ supposed to be the son. Don't ask me why," Jadeite added when he saw the puzzled look her face. "I don't know. As far as I can remember Kunzite has been like that. He especially holds the king in great respect. That however does not extend to the rest of the population much. His former fiancée Cleo can attest to that. Kunzite is all duty and no fun, and he sometimes forgets that the simple thing like showing compassion to his fellow officers. If I was to increase the amount the way he suggested with the security we have tonight we would have to force the guards to take triple shifts. And they've already been on double for weeks since the preparation started. I for one am not going to drive them to the ground just because he's being overly cautious. Besides what could possibly go wrong? He's only one man and even if his buddies decides to rescue him they would have to scale the walls first and get past the thousands of guards posted outside before they could reach him. Trust me men like them are not that loyal that they would risk their lives like that."

Usagi had to admit he did have a point and there was no arguing with his logic. Then again there she never was able to. Tactics was never her strong field. She only followed her instincts in battle whenever she was not listening to the orders of her comrades. 

They reached the Eastern castle gates. Because Jadeite was a well known face Usagi was saved from having to identify herself before she left unlike this morning when she entered. It was always a hellish experience and part of her was glad that once this celebration was over things would go back to normal and the security would lessen for her. She always feared that one of these days the guards would scrutinize her a bit too closely and her secret would come out. Then her life her would be over and she did not wish for that.

As the years passed her life back on Moon became more a faded memory. She missed her mother and her best friends but if she could have had the choice again she would still have left. It had begun like an escape of life but instead it had turned out to be a discovery of herself. Without a past and without her family and friends, she had learned to build a life for herself and Usagi truly believed she had grown in far more ways than she would ever have been able to had she stayed back at home. This place has taught her so much not just about Earth but life itself, things that she doubted she would have known had she stayed behind those safe marble walls of Luneir Castle.

Haruka's and Michiru's situation were one of them. Had someone told her before that two people of the same gender could actually have feelings that were not the sibling or friendship kind, Usagi would never have believed them. But her two friends were absolute proof of that being possible and looking at them together Usagi could not imagine herself having a relationship that was any less than what they shared with each other. Actually she would never settle for anything less. Which was why she did not understand how people could be so cruel that they were able to brand them to death for something as being in love with the wrong gender, especially if they were one's own daughter and sister and yet that was exactly what Haruka's and Michiru's family had done. Had those two not fled to Earth the only planet in this solar system not belonging to the Silver Alliance they would have been executed because of what they were, since a Royal decree made by one of the planets immediately came to affect in all. 

Usagi vowed that one of these days she would find a way to help her friends. Not just because of all they had done for her, helping her keep her secret, saving her life and teaching her but also because they were her friends and she wanted them to be happy. Thinking about the unfairness of her friend's situation always made Usagi so angry and so sad at the same time, so she thought about something else. 

Her mind immediately centered on the ball that was going to be held tonight and a pleased smile lit her face. She was so excited she could be bouncing on her feet if it were not for her disguise. A ball! She had not been to one of those in ages. For once in a long time she would be able to dress up again, she could wear a skirt and not a short one, but a full length skirt that trailed the floor. And she would meet Endymion again and not as Travis and not as Sailor Moon. Would he look at her the same way as he looked as Sailor Moon? As if no one else but her existed. Or would he look at her like she barely existed the way he always did Travis? Why oh why was that man so irritating? And why did she care what he did? There would be plenty of other young men at the ball. Probably more handsome and charming than him.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

In another part of the city another woman was thinking about the ball too though her eyes were trained on the street below her trying to watch a familiar figure appear. "I still can't believe that I let you guys talk me into this. It's insane! What if somebody recognizes her? We can't risk taking that chance." Haruka shook her head with exasperation. 

"We've been through this before. The magic that is held in the locket she's wearing will keep her safe just like has for the past three years." Unbeknownst to Usagi the locket she wore around her neck was not just a family heirloom but magical in itself. It influenced people's mind subtly so that they did not pay too much attention to the wearer. A very important matter in keeping Usagi's secret. Of course even the locket had its flaws which Haruka was pointing out by saying, "Not entirely or have you forgotten the three musketeers?" 

She was referring to the three young men whom also shared their secret of which the Usagi's pendant had not worked. It seems some people were less susceptive to magical influence and Jadeite, Nephrite and Zoicite were one of those. Actually it might still have worked on Jadeite far longer if it were not for the unexpected attack of the Spirit Demon while he, Alex and Travis had been on scouting mission which had led to the unfortunate and most embarrassing revelation. The discovery had not been such a bad deal for them, after the initial convincing and some knuckle cracking on Haruka's part, the three guys had turned out to be great support in keeping Usagi's secret. Zoicite's invention to deepen her voice was definitely a good thing as it would be hard to explain why Travis still had such a light voice at the age of "sixteen" which Michiru reminded her lover.

"Yeah yeah, so they are usually more help than hindrance. But you know tonight's different. She's not just going as a guy she's going as a girl. Even with a mask on her face and the invitation card scoured by Jadeite, it's still too risky, someone might get suspicious." 

"Haruka there's going to be over three hundred people at the ball. She can easily blend in." Michiru told her absently without looking up from her needlework. She only had a few more hours left to do the finishing touches on Usagi's costume before they had to get ready. Needlework really was not that girl's favorite. She was supposed to have finished it last night. "Besides," she added finishing sewing the last fake pearl on the dress and looked up with a smile, "she's an eighteen year old girl. Let her have some fun. Don't you remember how it was when you were at her age?" 

Just as expected Haruka made a low growling sound deep in her throat and looked over her shoulders, topaz eyes flashing indignantly. "You make me sound like I'm ancient." Seeing the answering smile on Michiru's face however quickly drained away the anger though not the annoyance. 

"Then stop acting like one. She spends nearly all her time pretending to be a guy let her have a chance to be herself once in a while too. She's not like you, Haruka. She does not like to play cross-dresser."

"I'm not a cross-dresser. I just happen to prefer breeches to skirts. What's wrong with that?" Came the slightly sullen reply. 

Because she knew that was not completely the truth, Michiru gave her a stern look. "Oh come now admit it you enjoy the charade, letting those ladies at the palace fawn all over you."

Recalling a special occasion where a certain snotty lady had practically thrown herself at her feet, Haruka felt her lips twitch in response. "Well maybe a little. Still you're asking for trouble when you encourage her to go to that ball or have you not noticed that a certain general is starting to develop feelings for her that are more than companionable?" She tried another tactic to get out of tonight's activity.

At that reference some of the merriment left Michiru's aqua eyes. "I'm not blind, Haruka when it comes to the love department. Actually from what I recall you were the one that had to be convinced otherwise." She added with a teasing tone, "Still you forget that the choice is hers. We can't keep her locked up and sheltered. Didn't we promise we wouldn't do that when we took her under our wing? She's lived a far too sheltered life, the same kind of life you and I had lived. We're not doing her any favors coddling her up like this. Let her experience things and make her own mistakes. She will grow that way."

"And what happens if she turns to him because of the prince's rejection? They're not suited for each other. Will you be able to live with that when they're both heartbroken? Especially knowing that we were partly responsible?" Haruka demanded and started prowling around the room. 

She was referring to their own little deception in this whole mess. With the obvious growing attraction between Endymion and Sailor Moon, it became necessary for them to interfere to prevent anything from developing. That came in the form of the enchantment they had put on the prince; an enchantment that would prevent him from making the connection between Travis the squire and Sailor Moon the warrior.

Like always when she thought about that certain episode, guilt gnawed at Michiru's consciousness and regret rested heavily on her shoulders. Guilt because she knew she was deceiving a girl whom was her friend and whom she was starting to love like a sister. And regret because she knew if the choice had been hers she would not have done it. 

Michiru did not claim to be an expert in the love area. Lord knows her love life was a complicated story itself. But she had always believed in following in her heart no matter where it led her and right now her heart was telling her that Endymion and Usagi belonged together even if their counterparts Endymion and Serenity might not be suited for each other politically. Still they were given their orders by the very woman whom they owed their lives to and if she wanted the couple separated then that was what Michiru would do. She would keep feeding the magical gem on Prince Endymion's royal insignia, the power that was required to keep him completely clueless about his squire and the woman he was most definitively in love with. Even if the effort killed her.

As if she had read her mind, Haruka stopped her prowling and looked at her with searching eyes. "How are you faring with the spell? You seemed awfully tired lately. I noticed during the battle that your attacks are not as powerful as they used to be."

Michiru smiled. "I'm fine. It's just requiring more and more energy to keep the spell working. Every time the prince turns into his other self the spell wears off. Somehow Magik Stone does not seem to work very well when he is powered up."

"You think there might be some truth in some of the stories about Earth's magic?" Haruka asked with a worried frown. 

Michiru shrugged. "Who knows, a lot has been lost over the years. They're certainly showing more magic in the recent years than for centuries now. If ganged up they can certainly match us in power and that certainly says something."

This was of course true since both of them were considered extremely powerful in the standards of Mages. Not that they were truly considered Mages since mages are able to use their magic without hindrance while Haruka and Michiru in a smaller degree were only able to call on their powers when they changed to their Sailor forms. The fact that Earth who had lacked people with magic abilities for so long that they had to start relying on scientific technology to get by suddenly have five people that are that powerful was a mystery in itself. 

"Maybe we should ask the queen for a stronger replacement." Haruka suggested. 

"Shh." Michiru cast her a quelling look and hurriedly ran to the door. After checking and becoming reassured that nobody was listening to them she said quietly as she closed the door again, "You know better than to mention her. It's too dangerous even if we're in our own house."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. So my tongue slipped." The blonde made a dismissive wave with her hand. "But back to the point. You think it's gonna be needed?"

For a moment there Michiru's eyes went unfocused as if she was sensing out the Magic Stone that she was linked through with the help of Queen Selenity's magic. "The power is getting weaker and the more he uses his powers the further it weakens. But I'm not really sure if it's possible for us to get anything stronger. I know it required a lot of magic and some extra help to create the current one."

She was referring to the use of Ginzuishou, the Silver Imperial Crystal and the single most powerful magical artifact in their galaxy. This meant that there might not be something stronger to prevent the mind block. 

Haruka shook her head in resignation. "And you still encourage her to go to the damn ball tonight? Tell me, do you feel that there's not enough excitement in our lives? You do realize that this is the only planet left in this galaxy that we can live in, a bounty is sort of hanging over our heads in the others."

Michiru gave a lopsided smile that did not quite reach her eyes. She never regretted choosing love instead of duty but she would be lying if she did not admit that it hurt to think about the price they paid for it. Just like Haruka, she cherished what they had today. The life they built. The home they had. The friends they made. And she was insane to throw it all away, which was exactly what she might be risking by encouraging Usagi to go to a ball. But something deep within her told her that it was necessary. So all she said was.

"Trust me, Haruka I know what I'm doing." 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Hours later Usagi watched the looming palace with large sparkling eyes. "Wow. The palace looks so different." She breathed as she leant out of the carriage window.

"Yes, yes and there's plenty more inside. So get in here before you break your neck by falling out of the window." Haruka admonished and pulled at the back of her skirt to draw her back inside. 

Because it was a choice of either come inside or have her dress ruined, Usagi chose the first though she could not help to mutter under her breath. "Spoil sport." 

"I heard that." Haruka told her crossing her arms over her chest. "Just so that you know I could always ask the driver to turn around. From what I recall there's a nice race going on in Hell's Hill that I would much rather attend then playing dress up."

Usagi gave an unlady like snort that made Michiru wince. "What dress up? You look the same as you always do except that you're wearing a mask." 

"I'm going as a highway robber. In case you didn't notice they're not exactly rolling in gold."

"You're just too lazy to use your imagination." 

"Why bother? They won't know who I am anyhow. That's the whole point of a masquerade isn't it? Besides if the party is a real success there will be enough alcohol floating around people won't care what you wear."

Usagi opened her mouth and was just about to argue that it certainly was not the case but a restraining hand on her arm halted her. "Just let her be, Usagi. She's in her argumentative mood and you know if you continue she'll only make it worse for you." Michiru told her gently.

Casting a look at the blonde woman opposite her, and seeing one tawny brow arch challenging, Usagi closed her mouth with an audible click. Michiru was right. When Haruka was in this kind of mood there was no arguing with her. It was her way of getting back at them they had dragged her off from her favorite sport of horseracing. Instead she had to settle for her second favorite and that was teasing Usagi. 

The carriage came to a stop and the door opened. Instead of the wizened face of their driver however, a grinning Jadeite was greeting them. All three at them stared.

"What the hell is it that you're wearing?" Haruka demanded before the blonde general could say anything. 

"What you don't like it?" Jadeite asked innocently but there was no mistaking the devilish glint on his blue eyes. 

The scarlet costume that he wore covered him from toe to neck. It seemed to be a one piece despite the appearance of boots, baggy shorts that closely resembled balloons that covered his thighs, shirt and vest to cover his torso. Satin covered his legs from where the shorts ended to where his half boots started like a second skin and his hands and fingers from where his sleeves ended. The lights from the torches above made the dozens of rubies sewn on his chest glint with fiery light. He wore a rather large hat that covered his blonde hair, two large white feathers swept downwards to rest against his shoulders. Some kind of mask was resting against his throat.

"You look…." Michiru said only to find that she was at lost for words so she waved her hand weakly in the air. 

"You look like a clown." Haruka told him bluntly.

The brusque reply and the comic look on Jadeite's face was too much and Usagi started to giggle though she tried to muffle it; it only made it worse as it looked like she was having a fit. 

Jadeite shook his head and made a tsking sound. "That just shows how little imagination you guys have. Trust me there's going to be people even more flamboyant than me inside there. And for your information I'm not a clown I'm supposed to be Lord Flamerick. He was very well known for his taste in the fine things of life, food, women, arts – "

"All except for clothes." Haruka cut in. 

"Country bumpkins." Jadeite shook his head. "Alas child I hope tonight will bring some enlightenment to your oh so narrow view of life." 

He extended a hand to Michiru who was the closest and helped her down from the carriage. "A mermaid. How fitting." He mused and winked at her. Then turning he helped Usagi down though he did not release her hands immediately. Studying her from head to foot taking in the simple cut of her dress and the gossamer like fabrics on her, he smiled. "Ah lovely Elaine you have decided to join us mortals for this festive gathering tonight. We are truly honored by your presence." He let go of one of her hands and fell down to one knee. "Please let me be your humble servant tonight and allow me to show you the sinful beauties of our Earth so that you shall be tempted to stay with us forever and never return to your bode of the Shadow realms." 

Usagi gave off a musical laughter delighted that her costume had been recognized. She was not very familiar with the mythologies of Earth but ever since Nephrite had told her about the legendary Elaine, daughter of Arath of the Underworld and Krystina the Sprite, Usagi had felt herself drawn to her story. 

Elaine was a half mortal who lived with her father in the Underworld. Because she was half mortal, rules forbade any of the dead spirits to make contact with her and thus she had lived a very lonely life. On her eighteenth birthday, Elaine sneaked out of her father's ever watchful eyes and up to the mortal world. She was immediately struck by the rich beauty of life itself on the mortal world compared to the death in the Underworld. Soon she met a mortal man a wizard of high power whom fell in love with her beauty. He promised to show her more life if she would come with him. And lured by his sweet promises Elaine freed herself from her prison at her father's home and disappeared into the mortal world with a smile on her face. 

Haruka made a rude noise. "I'm surprised you read, peacock." She commented.

Unfazed by her rudeness, Jadeite flashed her a grin that turned his already handsome face even better looking if that was possible. Watching him Usagi felt her heart skip a beat. Fortunately for her his eyes were trained on Haruka and the deadly force of his charm were being worked on the taller woman. "Contrary to general belief, I do have my moments when I pick up a book. A gentleman rogue as yourself should appreciate that I'm sure."

Michiru rolled her eyes heavenward. "You two can argue for all your worth out here. But there's a party inside that I would like to attend so we'll just leave you to it." She took Usagi's arm and led her away. 

Left without their lady of the night both blondes looked at each other and started running after them. Not that it stopped them from arguing with each other and sharing taunts as they walked from the entrance at the Rose Garden towards the ball room where the festivity was. 

The walk was a bit longer than if they had taken the main entrance but no doubt they would still reach it faster since they would not need follow the protocols. With his position and along with his connections with the right people, Jadeite had planned and arranged their entrance to the ball. 

The entrance at the Rose Garden was all the way to the other side of the palace and since this part was mostly used for educational purpose it was quite empty except for a few guards by the corners. The four of them walked along the stone hallways, with festive moods. 

"Come on you guys. Can't you walk a bit faster." Usagi demanded as she walked a few feet ahead of them. She was holding her skirt with both hands and looked nearly ready jump.

"Easy squirt. What's the hurry?" Haruka asked her.

"Because the party already started. Can't you hear the music?" Usagi tilted her head slightly to the side to make her point and indeed if they strained their hearing a bit music was floating in the air. 

Because she looked like a child ready for her own birthday party, Jadeite smiled. "Don't worry, Usa. The party just started the real fun won't kick in until later. Trust me most people haven't arrived yet. You're not missing much."

"That's not the point. I want to eat." 

The moment she said the words her three friends could feel their lips pulling at them and they fought bravely not to laugh. 

"You want to eat?" Jadeite had to admit he should get points for keeping his voice steady even as he felt his chest tickle as he forced the laughter down. Out of pure affection for the girl he stomped on it at bit more just to be sure it stayed down. 

"Uhuh." Usagi nodded her head making the blonde ringlets that fell from the top of head bounce. "I haven't eaten anything since midday. I'm so hungry now I could eat a horse."

"Well I doubt there will be one on the menu tonight." Haruka observed. 

Usagi gave her a withering look. "Will you just hurry up a bit?" She demanded over her shoulder while she more or less ran around a corner and –

"Ouch!" Two people cried out at the same time. 

"Usagi!" Three voices called out and ran after her only to come to a skidding halt at the scene in front of them. 

The blonde girl was sitting on her back shaking her head furiously to clear her head. Close to her they could see a small man with thinning hair wearing the familiar gray robe that identified him as one of the Masters, an honorary title given to those enlightened men at the palace that worked as a combination of teacher and scientist. Men wearing those titles were given extreme respect since Earth depended on the discoveries of these men in the matter of economy, defense as well as culture. Since these men knew their worth it was also not wise to cross them in any way unless you had powerful people behind you. 

"Master Arief! Are you alright?" Jadeite recognized his old teacher and mentally sighed in relief as he helped the older man up. Had it been someone else Usagi was sure to be in big trouble by now. Master Arief was however more interested in his books than in his positions and he proved that by saying. 

"Yes, good Lord yes. Now where did my scroll go?"

"You mean this Master?" Michiru inquired gently and handed him a cylinder scroll. Jadeite cast a curious look at the thing, it was made of bronze and quite faded to add a lot older than what the Master usually went around with. There was some kind of inscriptions on the scroll too, one looked like a serpent. 

"Ah yes thank you my dear." Arief's eyes lit up like a child.

"Ouch, ouch ouch." The sound of Usagi's voice made them turn their head.

"Are you alright, child?" The master asked with concern as he studied the girl with curiosity. 

Blushing to the hair root, Usagi nodded her head. Even as she tried not to rub at her sore backside. Beside her Haruka was grinning like a fool. 

"Ah that's good, dear. That's good."

"On behalf on my friend, I would like to apologize. She's a bit accident prone. I can assure you it was not intentional." Jadeite explained. 

Usagi made an angry noise at being described at accident prone but that noise became a slight yelp as Haruka intentionally stepped on her foot. Fortunately for her, Arief did not notice instead he waved a dismissive hand at Jadeite, "No need lad. No harm done. I was partly to blame too since I was so excited to get to my destination I did not watch were I was going as well."

For the first time Jadeite noticed that the man wore his usual woolen robe instead of the customary silken one worn for formal sessions. "You are not attending the ball, master?" 

"Nay lad. Such gatherings are beyond what these old bones of mine can take. I prefer the gentle company of my studies and leave all the festivity to you youngsters. Mind you watch yourself with this one, young lady." He told Usagi with a smile. "He has a way with the ladies he does."

Usagi bit her lips to keep herself from laughing watching Jadeite shuffle his feet like a schoolboy. She's been around the Generals enough as Travis to have spent company with Arief too and knew he meant no harm in that. Actually she really liked the older man since unlike his brethren's he never came off as aloof or snobbish. "I will."

"Ah that's good." Then he stopped and peered more closely at her. "Have we met before, young lady? You look kind of familiar."

Alarm bells immediately went off in their heads and three people started to talk at once in an effort to distract him but it was Michiru who saved the situation. "Who's there?" She demanded softly. 

Four pair of eyes turned towards the direction she was looking at. In the dim light a silhouette was visible to them but they could not make out much. Usagi's hand immediately went into the hidden pocket in her skirt where her henshin was and from the corner of her eyes she could see that Michiru already had her hand in her pocket too. Jadeite the only one carrying a weapon moved in front of them like a shield ready to buy them time to change if they had to. 

Slowly the person moved. They all tensed well all except from Arief who only looked curious. Light fell on the person and they all sagged in relief at the sight of the slender girl in her night robes. Her black hair only reached her to the shoulders it was starkly enhanced by the white robe she wore. Her skin was naturally pale but it looked even whiter tonight due to fear as she looked at them with apprehensive purple eyes. 

"Hotaru, what are you doing up?" Jadeite asked gently recognizing the girl as the daughter of Master Tomoe. 

"I…" The girl blushed and stared at the floor. She was not used to so much attention and having the undivided attention of five people on her especially strangers was too much for her. 

Sensing her discomfort, Jadeite gave her a reassuring smile. "Don't worry I'm not going to tell on you if Nanny Rita asks." Rita was the personal nanny of princess Terra and because Hotaru was a close friend of the princess and due to her frail health, Rita had been assigned to look after Hotaru as well. The lady was a dragon who kept a watchful on her charges. 

Hotaru blushed and curtsied. "Thank you, my lord." 

Jadeite waved a dismissive hand at her. "Please do as Terra and call me Jade. I get enough my lords from my valet to last me a lifetime." Then with a grin he added, "Are you sure you don't want to join us tonight? We can just put a mask on your face. Terra's going to be there?" 

"No, father told me it would be better for me to rest." They could hear the wistful tone in her voice that she wanted to go badly and caught at their heart. 

"Don't worry, there will be other opportunities." Michiru told her gently and gave her an encouraging smile. "You should go back to your quarters though. The night is a bit chilly and its easy to catch cold dressed as you are."

"I will thank you." She hesitated for a moment then turning back to Jadeite she said, "I hope you enjoy yourself, Jade. Please save a dance for Terra if you can. She's been looking forward to dance tonight but she fears nobody will ask her."

Jadeite winked at her. "You wish is my command." He gave her a flourish bow. "Don't worry I'll even get my friend over here to ask her up." He pointed at Haruka.

"Who said I was dancing?" Haruka scowled. 

"Oh come on don't be a spoilsport. Who knows you might even enjoy it." 

"No way. Its bad enough that I was dragged here this evening and now I have to dance too?" 

"Here we go again." Michiru muttered under her breath. She knew very well that Haruka loved to dance and was only being uncooperative because she wanted to rile Jadeite. Giving the master and girl an apologetic smile she said, "If you'll excuse us, I think we'd better be going." 

Arief winked at her in reply.

Michiru caught Usagi's eyes and together they dragged off the debating pair. 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Arief watched the disappearing couples with a fond smile on his face. Ah to be young again, he mused. Memories of his own youth came floating to surface, warming him with their gentle embrace. As he heard their laughter being carried along the hallway down to him, Arief played with the thought of joining them but he decided against it. His aching joints reminded him that he was no longer a youth and he would not be able to keep up with them. 

Shaking his head he turned to head back to the library only to give a start when he saw the slight girl standing before him. He had completely forgotten about her. The girl coughed slightly. 

Arief felt his heart move with pity. He could see the longing in her eyes that she would have loved to join her friends. Poor child it could not be easy being saddled with a frail health at her tender age having to miss out on so many things in life just because your body could not handle it. 

"Don't worry child. You are young so there will be plenty more. Who knows our prince is coming of an age where he might be choosing a bride of his own. Now that I guarantee will be a party like you've never seen before. Earth's monarchs put much weight on weddings, you know."

Recognizing the kindness he was showing her, Hotaru smiled in reply. "Please don't let me keep you from your business, master Arief." 

Arief waved a dismissive hand. "These bones might be old but here," He pointed at his head. "I can guarantee you here it's still as sharp as when I was twenty I tell you. Nay child you're not holding me up. I was just on my way back to the Old Library. I wanted to check out something."

"Does it have anything to do with the old Script they found at the Excavation?" Hotaru tilted her head slightly to the side.

Arief blinked and his face lit up with joy. "Why yes! How did you know about that?" 

"I heard some of the masters discuss it the other day in papa's study. They're all very excited about the Excavation." She did not mention the fact that some of them thought Arief was a batty old man who seemed so engrossed in a group of scripts when there were far more interesting artifacts there to study; somehow feeling that it would be unkind. Having been ridiculed by people for her frail health, Hotaru knew how much a thoughtless word could hurt. 

"Yes, the Excavation was indeed a truly remarkable find. A very good thing young Jadeite and his friends managed to catch the leader. Now maybe the digging can continue smoothly and we can find out even more about our history. You know that these treasures might date as far back as King Mileon's time? Why that's like four thousand years back!"

Hotaru blinked. "Truly?" She knew the Excavation was old but she never realized it dated back that far. No wonder the historians were all so excited. This was among the farthest back they had ever gone in history. 

"Yes, the script that I'm working on are written in a language that closely resembles the symbols used in Teneese Tongue which is was the official language of the Simmen's period, that is the period after Mileon and -"

He broke off abruptly, stared at Hotaru's blank face and laughed ruefully while shaking his head "Look at me going on and on. You have to excuse me child I tend to get excited about my work I keep on forgetting that people might not share the same knowledge or passion for that matter as me. Do not worry, we shall go through all that in your history lesson but not tonight. It time for you to sleep." He patted her gently on the shoulder.

Blushing slightly at her lack of knowledge, Hotaru curtsied and murmured softly, "I look forward to that day." 

To Arief's surprise he could hear that it was not just a phrase but that she genuinely meant it. Pleasure spread across his chest. Ah yes another promising youth with thirst for knowledge. Not many of his colleagues liked being teachers but to Arief it was a pleasure in itself because finding students like these and tutoring them was what made it all worth while. 

He suspected that just like her father was a promising scientist, young lady Hotaru will go far one day in the scholarly fields. 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

As Arief went about his business several floors beneath him in the dark dungeons of the palace, mist was slowly starting to gather in the hallways. It came slowly and none of the guards standing or patrolling noticed it at first because the dungeon was always slightly chilly. Soon though one by one the guards' lids fell heavily down over their eyes and their minds went blank. 

Nobody was aware of the person that walked silently down the hallways and past the drugged guards. The person stopped in front of the barred cell at the very heart of the dungeon. He searched the bodies of the nearest guards for the key that would unlock the cell. 

Once he was safely inside his eyes immediately lit on the large man that was being confined by heavy bands of steel against the wall. He did not pay heed to the four unconscious bodies on the floor. Stepping over one of them he took out something from his pocket and unscrewing the cork he waved the flask underneath the man's nose. 

The giant man woke up with a grunt and grimaced. His dark eyes were unfocused at first once they fastened on his rescuer he immediately gave off a feral grin. 

"I see ye finally decided to show up." He said. He did not bother to keep his voice low and the sound of his booming voice echoed against the stark walls. 

"I told you I would, didn't I?" His rescuer told him smoothly with a muffled voice due to the mask he was wearing over his face. Partly to hide himself and partly to keep him safe from inhaling the drugs he had smoked on the guards. "Now if you would hold still I'll see which of these keys fits those locks of yours."

"That won't be necessary, Master." Bear told him and with a heavy yank the chains fell off him crashing loudly to the floor. The man who had taken several steps back in the procedure gulped as he stared at Bear. 

"Well I kept my end up the bargain. You are free now. Just remember to keep yours." He told him and swept out the room. 

"Not so fast." A heavy hand fell on his shoulder and he wince at the pain. From behind him Bear gave a satisfied smile. He knew he could crush the man's bones if he wanted to but giving them these small warning was much more satisfying. "Are ye forgetting something?" 

The man dug out something from robe and handed to Bear. "The portal stones have been set out on the places you requested. Your men should be in position by now. The map should show you the way to your destination. Remember the highest floor is off limits."

Bear took the map the man offered and made a mocking gesture of salute. "Pleasure doing business with ye, Master. I hope we get more opportunities in the future." With those parting words he strode out the cell, making sure to step on the unconscious guard on the floor. The other man felt repulsion as he heard the distinctive sound of crushing bones and he knew with certainty that the neck was broken. 

He stood there watching in the silence waiting for the other man the dungeon knowing deep in his heart that he had to move as well before the drug he had used wore off. And yet he was unable to move and soon he realized there was no need since there would not be any one alive to witness his betrayal. 

Outside he could hear Bear being joined by his men as they went to work.

"Spirits help me. What have I done?" The man moaned. 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Safely hidden behind her mask, Usagi watched the festivity around her with a dull gaze. Her earlier high spirit was gone and left was only a disillusioned heart. 

She watched the dancing couple breeze by her, the man in his sea captain clothes and the woman in her fairy dress. The woman leant forward and whispered something into his ear and the man gave her a secretive smile. Unlike the other guests he wore no mask over his face, not that it would have mattered even if he did because Usagi doubted that anybody would mistake him, not with that grand entrance he made together with his parents. This might be the party to celebrate the union of the royal monarchs thirty years ago but the prince was the one getting most of the attention. 

At the moment nearly half of the eyes in the room were glued to him. The fact that most of those eyes belonged to women did not make Usagi feel any better. Just who was she trying to fool? Why had she thought that tonight would be any different than any time? Just because she was wearing a dress? She was still disguised and in this mist of these flashing beauties she was nothing but a pale shadow. How did she think she would be able to catch his interest? 

Jadeite had indeed not been joking when he said that his costume was nothing compared to what others would wear. There had been people dressed even more flamboyant than him with a combination of colors that actually hurt to look upon. Some women were even dressed in ways that made Usagi blush, though they were quite a success among the males. 

"Hey squirt. What's with the long face?" A familiar dark voice asked from behind her. 

Usagi turned and met the dancing dark eyes of Nephrite. He was dressed like a ranger with forest garb, a green pointed hat and matching cloak. The only thing that did not fit with his image was his long curly dark hair that he had left to fall loosely along his back. 

For the first time in a while now, Usagi felt a smile dance across her lips that was not forced. "Neph. I thought you weren't joining us." 

Nephrite made a face. "So did I but Kunzite left his," he plucked at his costume "in my quarters along with a letter that said 'this tonight or the Pit tomorrow.' " 

"Considering it's you, I doubt that is enough to sway your mind. You hate these kind of gatherings." Usagi pointed out with a skeptic look. 

Nephrite flashed her one of his rare smiles. It made his dark eyes wink like stars. Usagi felt her breath catch at the sight of him. She kept on forgetting just how devilishly handsome Endymion's four guards were. _That's because you're too busy watching his royal arrogant highness to see much else._ A small voice told her tartly. _That is not true! _Usagi told the voice indignantly. _Oh really then why are you back looking at him?_

It was humiliating to realize that it was exactly what she was doing. And in doing that she realized she also missed out on what Nephrite just said to which she had to ask again.

"I said it was a combination of Kunzite and the stars. They seemed to think it was an event not to be missed." The Stargazer told her. Seeing where her eyes were drifting to, Nephrite felt a smile tug at his lips. Since he was stuck in this ball he might as well make the most of it. "Care to grace me with a dance?" He asked.

Usagi blinked. She did not even know Nephrite knew how to dance. Nephrite however seemed to misunderstand her. "You do know how to dance don't you?" He asked with a frown.

"Oh yes but I-" She caught herself and a blush crept up her face. 

Reading her honest face like an open book, Nephrite chuckled. "You thought I didn't know how? Don't worry I might not like to attend these social functions but I do know how to behave in them. Since the four of us will accompany Endymion in every social as well as political function he will ever have, it was considered part of our training." Nephrite said the last in a tone that clearly said he thought it was a total waste of time. 

"Well whatever it was that made you come. I'm glad you did." She told him with a smile as she took his offered hand and let him lead her to the dance floor.

Together they glided across the marble floor in tune with the festive tone. Usagi quickly discovered that Nephrite was an excellent dancer. Actually he was far better than Usagi's own dance teacher back home. As he lead her across the dance floor, Usagi found that she did not have to be self conscious at all and rehearse in her head which foot to put where and when. Everything came naturally and she felt like a swan gliding across the ballroom. Usagi laughed, Goddess she wished the girls could see her now. They would not be able to believe their eyes. 

At the thought of her four friends some of Usagi's bright mood disappeared to be replaced by a dull pain. She wondered how they were doing. Aside from the news of the Saturn civil war breaking out, information outside of Earth had been very scarce for her. She knew that this solitude was self imposed all she had to do was to swallow her pride and return home. Somehow she knew that all she had to do was send out a thought to her mother and she would hear her no matter the distance and send for her immediately. But the problem was it was not just about the fight with her mother anymore. 

Usagi glanced at man that had changed things for her the past few years. Despite his rude ways, Usagi knew that without him she would never have come as far as she had for the past few years. He might be hard towards Travis but in his own way he looked after the boy too and allowed him to grow the way Usagi knew she would never have been able to do had she stayed on Moon. 

Nephrite studied the slender woman in front of him and seeing the sadness in his eyes as she followed his liege with her cerulean eyes, he felt a twist in his heart. The longing in them stirred him as he envied his friend's luck. Briefly he wondered if he would ever experience the kind of luck to have a woman look at him the way Usagi did Endymion. He doubted it. Not when even his own mother did not love him. Like always with the thought of the woman who had given birth and abandoned him, Nephrite felt his mood start to darken and he quickly shook them away and tried to think of something else.

Suddenly an idea formed in his head and without much thought, Nephrite steered Usagi closer to Endymion. He felt Usagi stiffen slightly in his arms and hid a smile. He pretended ignorance and then waited for the right moment when Endymion swung his partner. Then swiftly and smoothly Nephrite moved into action and took the woman's hand even as he swung Usagi into his liege's direction. 

"Ah Lady Penelope just the beauty I was looking for." He greeted. "You don't mind do you Endy?" He asked over his shoulder even as he turned a deaf ear towards the protesting lady in his arms and steered her away. 

Since he had been suffering from tramped feet ever since the dance started with the lady in question, Endymion murmured softly, "Not at all my friend. By all means." He gathered Nephrite's partner in his arms and twirled her in the opposite direction. 

From across the room, Jadeite standing at the edge of the dance floor saw the exchange between the couples and the way Usagi's eyes lit up as she stared up at Endymion caused a slight tug in the area near his heart. Unconsciously he clenched the hand that held the crystal flute. 

"Jadeite." Celeste, the Duchess of Randion called out to her grandson.

Tearing his eyes away from the dancing couple, Jadeite looked down at the tiny but formidable woman and gave her a sheepish smile. "Sorry, grandma." 

Celeste shook her head. "You remind me so much of your grandfather at his age. Never one moment of peace, always wandering eyes." 
    
     Jadeite grinned. "Well I must have gotten it somewhere. Father is much too serious and boring." 

Celeste gave him a reproving look. "Now, Jadeite. I won't have you talking badly of your father." Though secretly she could not have agreed more. Elrond was probably the most proper and boring man on this planet. He wouldn't recognize fun if it spit him in the eye. Still there was no need for the scamp to know that. He was far too sure of himself already and far too flighty. 

"You could take after your father a bit and think about settling down. Why at your age he was already married with two children."

Jadeite turned away slightly and pretended to take sip of his drink while he listened halfheartedly to her speech on the advantages of marriage. Here they go again, so much for disguising himself so that his grandmother wouldn't be able to find him. Despite her formidable age of three and sixty, Celeste still had very sharp eyes and strong mind. At the moment unfortunately for him, she had decided to fix that mind on convincing him to settle down. From across the room he caught the eyes of one of his sisters and pleaded silently with her to come and save him. The traitor took one look at his pained expression and the determined set of their grandmother's face and winked before disappearing into the dance floor.

"-and you're not listening to one word of what I'm saying, are you?" Celeste demanded with a sniff.

Jadeite turned back to her and flashed her one of his most devastating smiles taking one fragile hand between his. It was the fragility in them that made him speak his mind instead of coating it up with excuses the way he did his parents. "I'm too young to settle down yet, grandma. I have still too much wild oats to sow."

The elderly woman gave a loud harrumph that made several people turn in scandalized shock. One look at the powerful lady though they quickly turned the other way again. "From what I hear young man, you will soon be able to harvest your own field. It's time to stop planting everywhere and settle down with just one patch."

Jadeite made a pained expression at that metaphor. He liked his grandparents a lot, in fact he was probably closer to them than he was to his own parents but he drew the line at talking about sex with his grandmother. He lifted the glass in his hand and tried to drown the liqueur only to find that it was empty. Damn he was thirsty. Maybe he shouldn't have chosen this costume. It sure was hot wearing it. 

Celeste watched her grandson squirm with discomfort and secretly smiled with delight. Oh how she loved to shock the youngsters. That should make them think twice about her nearing her dotage. Just because she was turning older did not mean her mind was slipping as well. Oh no, Celeste once princess of Earth and now Duchess of Randion was still pretty much on top of things. Actually she knew far more than people gave her credit for. Despite public knowledge, the formidable Duke of Randion's network of intelligence was actually hers. 

Celeste suspected with a wry smile that if her grandson realized just how much she really knew about his escapades, he might in fact think hard about turning celibate. Oh the scamp was inventive and he did give her people a hard time in following him but he still had a lot to go before he could elude her people. 

Of all her grandchildren, Celeste had to admit that Jadeite held a special place in her heart. He reminded her so much of herself when she was young. The boldness, the arrogance and the thirst for adventure. He also had a lot of Jamie in him, the fairness and loyalty. She still remembered the hell raising boy that he was. God she missed having small children around with an eye for trouble. His sister's children were so well behaved they became unnatural. Now Jadeite she knew, would not disappoint her. He will fill her halls with laughing mischievous children and running servants. If only he could find a mate to settle down with.

Her blue eyes, sharp and intelligent focused on the blonde girl dancing with her nephew and a calculated look came upon them. So this was the latest girl that had caught her grandson's fancy. Good bearing and bone structure but then again Celeste would not have expected anything less for the girl, considering her lineage. Oh she was not a hundred percent sure of the girl's identity since it had been too quiet on the other part. She did not know why the girl came here and what the whole silence was about, but as long as the girl did not pose a threat to them Celeste would keep her silence and protect the girl in her own way all to keep the peace between Earth and the Silver Alliance intact. 

Celeste had to admit an alliance in the form of a marriage would no doubt benefit the two parts but she secretly hoped it would not be one involving Jadeite. Whatever he might think, the girl was not for him. She was too soft and would never be able to challenge him the way he needed to be. He needed someone that was just as headstrong as him and maybe even temperamental. Celeste always did like a good shouting match. It sure had made some interesting moments for her and Jamie. She much preferred that than the icy coldness to which her son and his wife preferred. 

A movement caught her eyes and she looked towards the solitary man by the wall. He wore a brown monk's robe, his long curly blonde hair tied back at the nape. He kept himself apart from others, the arrogant smile on his face clearly showing his boredom at the whole charade going on around him. He could not hide the loneliness he felt in those beautiful green eyes of his, at least not to someone of Celeste's caliber and her heart went out to the lonely boy with the sad past. 

Young women, debutantes mostly gave him long sighing looks only to have worried mothers draw them away with a hissing warning. Older women gave him calculated looks, their experienced eyes taking in the muscular and slender frame underneath the robe. One woman bolder than the others came forward and spoke something to him. They were too far away for Celeste to catch what they were saying but there was no mistaken the way the woman's lingering touch what she meant. 

Celeste's lips narrowed with disapproval. She knew the woman and her preferences for young men. More she knew of her rather seedy taste in certain aspects of bedroom activity, the kind that did not suit the young man. 

"Jadeite. If you won't grant your elderly grandma a child to bounce on her knees at least do me a favor and save your young friend over there from the lady Craven's amorous attention." Celeste murmured to her grandson. 

Jadeite spotted Zoicite immediately. His blue eyes quickly scanned the room. "No problem if you can assist me in drawing Uncle Erland's attention away from him as well."

Despite being in the other room as far away from the young man as he could get, Erland the Grand Duke of Cresthaven was looking at Zoicite with a mixture of contempt and hatred. Celeste inwardly sighed at her brother-in-laws stubbornness and unforgiving nature. Why could he just not forget the past and let some joy back into his life? To blame the child for something that the parent did was pure idiocy

"Leave your uncle to me and just rescue the boy before Lady Craven eats him alive." She murmured and set out to do her task. 

"He seems a bit tipsy so you might want to keep him away from Kunzite as well." Jadeite told her over his shoulder before he moved away with a flashing smile. 

Celeste secretly groaned. A drunken Erland, great that's just what she needed. Instinctively she looked towards the staircase and the tall silver haired man in a maroon evening suit. Their closeness made it unnecessarily for her to call out to him He turned his face and looked at her, sensing her need. She nodded towards his brother and he nodded his head in understanding, immediately excusing himself from his friends to fill out his family obligations.

In the meantime, completely unaware of the potential scene caused by his relatives, Endymion was dancing with the mysterious girl dressed as Elaine of the Underworld. Despite his best efforts he had not been able to coax a real name out of her and yet for the strangest reasons he was sure he knew her. From the moment he held her in his arms, he felt like he stepped into a dream. The buzzing sounds of conversation and laughter lowered and the light surrounding them seemed to brighten cloaking their surroundings and the people, until all that was left was the two of them, the hundreds of candles lighting the room and the spellbinding ancient folk music of his people. 

Endymion looked down at the slip of a girl; no he corrected the woman in his arms. She might be slender and short but his could very much feel that it was not a girl but a woman he held in his arms. A woman who for a strange reason he was drawn to like a moth to a flame.

"Tell me, my fair Lady. Are you for real? Or have you only come to enchant me with your mysterious presence only to disappear once the night is over like the mysterious creature you represent tonight?" He asked softly.

The woman looked up at him her soft pink lips widening into a gentle smile. "I am as real as you want me to be, my Lord." She replied to him her voice like a soft caress from a rose's petal and stirring his blood. Unconsciously Endymion tightened his hold around her tiny waist and pulled her closer to his hard frame. He heard her let out a small gasp of surprise but she did not protest at the inappropriate closeness their bodies made as they danced. 

The music ended and they stopped but neither pulled back as they looked into each others eyes. Endymion looked down at those cerulean blue eyes of hers and tried to penetrate the white silver mask covering her face. What was it that those eyes tried to tell him? What was it that he was missing? 

Caught in his own thoughts and the turbulent emotions the mysterious Elaine seemed to awaken in him, Endymion paid no heed to the people around him, indeed he did not even notice them as they tried to gain his attention. Instead the moment the orchestra strung up the tune for the next song, Endymion moved his partner into another dance and said, "Then stay by my side for this entire evening. For I shall not let you go until I find out who you are."

"Thou hath only to say my name and I would not only stay for tonight but for all eternity, my Lord." She whispered to him, her eyes suddenly looking very ancient. The words shook him to his very foundation and the archaic speech seemed to touch a deep part of him and awakened something. A warm not unfamiliar feeling enveloped his body, at the back of his mind a shimmering blanket seemed to slowly lift. He stared at her, unaware that he had stopped dancing. His partner seemed to look up at him with expectant eyes as she held her breath and waited.

Suddenly a loud fanfare blasted the air announcing the arrival of highly important guest. Both of them blinked as if awakening form a spell and jumped apart. None noticed though since most were caught by surprise at the fanfare also and all eyes turned towards the wide marble staircase that led down to the ballroom. 

The Lord Chancellor Brighton, stepped forward onto the small island where the steps started and cleared his throat. His face was flushed and there was an excited air around him as he bowed towards their Royal Majesties and said, "Your Royal Majesties, our esteemed guests. It is with a great honor I present to you Her Royal Highness Princess Minako of Venus, the Ambassador of Moon."

There was a shocked a silence as the whole room absorbed the astonishing news. Fortunately the silence was quickly covered with the welcoming fanfare that accompanied the young woman that appeared beside the Chancellor. With the appearance of the girl, the room started to stir as everyone tried to crane their heads to take a closer look at the Ambassador because it was surely breaking news; no official Royal visitor from the Moon has graced the halls of the Royal Terran Palace for centuries. Even the Treaty had been signed on an asteroid field set apart from either Kingdoms. 

The woman created quite a stir as she glided down the stairs towards them with the Chancellor. She wore a white dress that left her arms bare, a short cloak resting against her slender shoulder held together by a brooch of pure topaz. The skirt was hacked off in mid thigh showing off long slender legs. The dainty feet were covered in golden sandals with wide belt that crossed and wrapped around well shaped calves. A belt of woven gold with glittering topaz which enhanced the tiny waist and full chest. A matching hairpiece decorated her head, holding back the sides of her waist long golden blonde hair. Two tiny gold earrings winked at her ears but it was her eyes, those rich blue hues that shone the brightest. Large, fringed with long blonde lashes they danced with a mischievous light, they held a sparkle of life which lifted many spirits as they gazed upon them. 

If ever there was a vision of a sprite, this woman was surely that in her white dress made of the finest linen in the galaxy, floating down the stairs with her cloak billowing behind her like wings. 

The ambassador stopped in front of the royal couple and made a deep graceful curtsy. "Your Majesties, I apologize for my tardiness in arriving to your celebration. I bring to you this gift from Her Majesty Queen Selenity. It is the Harp of Aphrodite. She hopes the music it brings will do justice to the love and devotion the two of you have shown to our galaxy."

King Galian accepted the golden harp that the ambassador was offering with both hands. "Please give our sincerest gratitude to your aunt the Queen. She honors us with the presence of two of her kingdoms treasures tonight."

"Oh I'm sure my aunt has a few chosen words to describe me but treasure would not be one of them." The ambassador told the couple with a wink. 

The royal couple looked at the blonde woman with a startled expression over the sudden breach of protocol but then both started laughing. King Galian went even as far as throwing his head back and roaring with laughter. The laughter seemed to have worked as silent message and suddenly the ballroom started stirring with life and the sound of buzzing conversation took place even as the orchestra struck their first note. 

Knowing that their latest guest was an important persona that required his presence, Endymion prepared to do his duty as the crown prince. Still he was reluctant to leave his mysterious dancing partner and for a moment there he contemplated the thought of introducing her to his parents. What would she think of that? Would the very thought of meeting them frighten her? He knew some young ladies were intimated by the mere presence of his parents. Or would it affect her in a different way? So far he was sure the lady had been interested in him as person and not by his title but would introduction of his parents change that and let her see the prince instead of the man like so many others did?

He glanced down at the girl and was startled to see a group of eager looking ladies looking up at him hoping to snag the next dance with him. Elaine was not one of them. In fact she was no where near. 

Endymion cast a frantic look across the room, his eyes quickly scanning the rows of heads for the familiar pale blonde head. Something made him look towards the sliding doors leading to the terrace and the garden outside and he managed to catch a small figure in white disappear between the sliding doors and get swallowed by the night. 

Nonplussed at odd behavior but unwilling to just let her disappear out of his life, Endymion did not hesitate to move after her. He heard his mother call him, but ignored her for the first time in his life. Instead he hurried his steps and went after the mysterious enchantress; something in his guts telling him that if let her go now he might never see her again.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Usagi was running blindly through the stone pavement of the Royal Garden, unmindful of her steps or destination. All she knew was that she needed to leave the ballroom as far behind her as she could before the building emotion inside her that exploded. Her chest burned with pain. In the end she had to stop and take deep heaving gulps of breath. 

Tears stung her eyes. Usagi squeezed her eyes shut.

Goddess, Mina was here. Mina. Sweet, lovely, joyous Mina. At first she had thought her ears had been deceiving her when she heard the Chancellor's announcement but then she had appeared; a vision of golden beauty as Aphrodite the Goddess of Love herself. 

Watching her childhood friend as she glided down those stairs, so confident and graceful as she bound the people in the room under her spell, Usagi had felt a tremendous joy fill her being. The emotions had kept on building in force that she knew she could not keep them at bay. She could not hide them any longer and so she had to leave. She had to run before her feelings betrayed her. She had to flee before the sight of Mina changed her resolve and she abandoned everything to return home with her. Because seeing her best friend again only made her realize just how much she had missed her over the years. Her and Ami, Mako, Rei, her mother, Luna, Artemis, everyone at the castle, her room, the garden, the lake. 

Feeling of homesickness washed over her, emotional waves each larger and heavier with each moment. She had managed to block the emotions out for years by not thinking about anything or anyone that could relate to home but tonight she could not avoid it. The burning ache in Usagi's chest increased and she felt the chill to her very bones. A foreboding sense of warning seemed to hover over her like a dark blanket. Usagi looked up at the sky towards the moon that shone brightly against the velvet blackness. What was this feeling she had? Was it just her homesickness or was it something more? Was there something out there that threatened her family and friends?

Even if there was Usagi would not know about that, having been gone for so long. Mina's presence tonight only reminded her how much she had forsaken her own duties as a princess. She had forsaken her family, her friends, her home and her duties. And all for what? A man who could not even at this point recognize her for who she was? He saw different pieces of her but he could never fit them all together and see beyond the facade to the real her underneath them all. Was he really that superficial? 

As if her thoughts had suddenly conjured him up, a voice suddenly said. "There you are." 

Usagi gave a start and whirled around and as expected he came running towards her. 

"Why did you take off like that?" Endymion asked her. "I was just about to –" he a halted in mid-sentence and his sapphire eyes sharpened. "You've been crying. What happened? Did someone hurt you?" He studied for, looking for outward injury and found nothing. 

"No nothing happened. I'm fine." Usagi told him briskly and her voice a bit unsteady due to the anger she felt in realizing that she had indeed been crying. 

"Don't lie to me." Endymion told her softly but there was no mistaken the temper in his eyes. "Look at you. You are not fine at all." 

In fact she was shaking like leaf. He quickly shed his vest and put it around her shoulders; while sleeveless the thick fabric still offered a semblance of warmth. His hand brushed her body briefly and she trembled as her body reacted to his touch. 

They eyes met and captured. Time stood still. 

Usagi watched with a pounding heart as Endymion's face moved closer to hers. It was just like in her dreams except that this was no dream. This was real, Endymion was about to kiss her. The very man that she had fallen in love with, the prince of her dreams. 

His handsome face descended on hers. Unconsciously she tilted her head upwards and their lips touched. The kiss was sweet. Usagi felt like she was floating in a dream state. He tasted of wine and something darker, something far more intoxicating than alcohol. Music played in her head, a hauntingly beautiful tune that was both sad and familiar somehow and her body hummed with life. She lifted her hand and touched his face even as he gathered her closer to him. Her soft curves melded with his hard frame. She felt the tip of his tongue touch her closed lips, probing slightly. Instinctively she parted her lips. He immediately angle his head and dove in. All coherent thoughts left her head as emotions exploded within her. Their tongues met and mated in harmony with the burning fires throbbing in their veins. 

The sudden touch of his hand on her breast however immediately jerked her back to reality with a stunning shock. Her body stiffening in response, Usagi's eyes which had somehow closed during the heated kiss shot open. With her senses coming back to reality, so did her sensibility. What the hell was she doing? She was about to let him…Heat rose up Usagi's cheeks as she could not even finish the thought in her mind. 

"Let go of me." She demanded even as she shoved Endymion away from her with all her might. 

His mind still dazed from passion, he never saw the hand coming but the ringing in his head and the pain across his left cheek had a quick way of awakening him. 

"Ouch. What was that for?" He demanded and glared at the woman.

"That's for not keeping your hands to yourself!" She told him smartly her blue eyes hot and feverish. 

Seeing the accusation in her eyes as well as hearing them in her tone Endymion felt his own temper prick. "Excuse me, but I seemed to recall I wasn't the only one doing the kissing part."

Usagi thought her face might burn off but anger gave her courage. "Oh that is so typical male answer. Blame on the girl and get her to feel guilty. After all she's not experienced enough to know the difference. All you have to do is seduce her with a starting kiss right? Tell me if I hadn't stopped you, would you have stopped then?"

Because Endymion was not in fact sure if he would have stopped himself in time, he felt heat rise up his own face. She was right. Never in his life had he ever been so engulfed with passion that he completely forgot who and where he was and on the complete verge of taking a woman right there in the open without any sense of propriety or decorum. 

Usagi waited for him to deny her accusations but when he only looked at her with stony silence, pain slashed at her like knifes. So that was all she was to him? A fling? A moment of passion? Why did he not deny her accusations? Had she truly been so wrong about him? About the connection they had? Was he nothing but a womanizing prince after all? 

Hurt beyond words, at having her dreams crumble around her feet Usagi gathered up her skirts and ran. Tears steamed down her cheeks leaving a hot scalding path against icy cold skin. She heard him call after her, another name another disguise never her real name and she ignored him.

She did not get very far before he caught up to her by grabbing hold of her arm. 

"Let me go!" Usagi tried to yank her hand away from his grasp but it was like shaking of a manacle. 

"No dammit! Not until you hear me out."

"What is there to hear? I've heard everything I need to hear. I've seen everything I need to see. I know everything there is to know about you!" She yelled at him. 

"But I don't know anything about you." He grabbed hold of her other hand, the one she tried to punch him with. "I feel like I know you. Like I should know who you are and yet I don't."

She gave a bitter laughter. "Well that's obvious isn't it? You never tried. All I've been is a little nobody, one whom you never bothered to try to look deeper." 

"Stop talking in riddles and tell me who you are." Endymion demanded of her finally loosing his patience. He felt feverish. There was a pounding headache starting at the sides of his head. The way she spoke. The way she acted. The way she looked even with the mask on. They all seemed somehow familiar to him. Yet even as he searched his memories he could not get behind that foggy barrier and grasp the right ones. His chest seemed to hurt.

As the couple glared at each other each fighting their own drowning emotions neither noticed the Royal Insignia on Endymion's chest glowing. But they were not able to ignore the sudden explosion as shards of colored glass started to rain down on them.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

In the Library things were a lot quieter. With the heavy door closed, Arief had shut out the sounds from outside world. Not that he would have been able to notice much, as engrossed as he was in his research.

Unlike the King's Library, the Library was but a small shadow in comparison. The books here were mainly for the uses of the Masters as they worked with their researches. It was not quite as extensive but it suited Arief's needs for the moment. 

Despite his title Arief was a man of simple breeding. His father had been the teacher in the tiny village that had been their home. While his position as a Master gave him more than he could ever hope for, Arief's taste had never changed and he always preferred having it simple around him. Working in the grand surrounding of the King's Library would have made it impossible for him to concentrate.

The light from the thick candle he lit flickered and danced across the worn out parchment he had rolled out in front of him. The place was quiet the only sound being heard was the rustling of pages as Arief looked up words on thick volumes of dictionaries he had spread out on the table. 

Never in his life had he been more excited by his work as he was tonight. The further he studied it the more he came to realize the importance of the scroll. It was fast turning into a historical treasure one that might be oldest one they had ever discovered. The language written in the faded skin, yes it was made of skin, Arief was sure of that. But what kind he did not know because he could not imagine anything being able to hold for this long, at least eight centuries. 

Excitement soared inside him, the feeling more of an aphrodisiac than any wine he had ever drunk. Arief leaned over the parchment and squinted with his eyes as he tried to make out the sign that had halfway faded from the parchment. He wrote down the sign carefully on the piece of paper near him and looked up on the books for any signs that were close enough in combination. 

"Could it be Heaven? Its close enough but I've never seen it written like that before." Arief muttered under his breath. 

Pulling out another piece of paper, Arief read loudly the translation he had thought he had so far been able to make. _" against the Ancient One, an evil…………….….. time. They…………… …………………………..Eternal Ones, to summon .…………………………………………… the Shitennous, the Four Kings of Heaven, …."_

Arief wondered if this was another tale of the battle between the Lord of Heaven and the Devil of Hell. Surely the Ancient One, the evil that it referred to must be the Devil? Though he had to admit he had never heard of that reference before. It seemed very archaic, which excited him even the more. 

But who were the Four Kings of Heaven? These Shitennous? Strange words. Maybe he translated it wrong. 

Arief peered back at the old parchment studying the character. Maybe it was not a word as he thought. Maybe it was the drawing of something. The ancient signs were actually only modernized ways of what used to be paintings. And from the way these characters were written they could in truth be as much painting as written signs. It was just too bad there was a large part that had faded away. He studied the corner with a sign. He could see something there but it was too light to make out what it was. He leant closer and squinted with his eyes and frowned.

Strange he could almost swear that he could see drawings of animals there. A serpent? A bird? A four-legged animal of some sort and –

BANG!

The door to the Library burst open with such force it crashed against the wall and bounced. A gust of wind carried across the room, extinguishing the candle on the desk and scattering Arief's notes to the floor. 

With the light suddenly gone, Arief squinted with his eyes in the darkness trying to see who the rude person was that had interrupted him. All he could make out was that the person was rather large in built. He filled the double doorway with his impressive frame.

"Ah there ye are old man. I've been looking for ye. Now be a good chap and hand me that thing." A deep rumbling voice said. 

Something about the man made warning bells ring in his mind and without hesitation, Arief called out, "Guards!"

His uninvited guest made a tsking sound and stepped in to the room. "Sorry to disappoint ye but there's no one around to help ye."

As he came closer, Arief hurriedly took the parchment from the desk and rolled it up. Before he could put the thing back in its protective scroll a large hand seized hold of his hand and wrenched parchment from his fingers. He cried out in pain seeing the precious piece render in several places at the ungentle handling. 

"Careful with that. That is a priceless treasure." He yelled at his attacker. 

The large man felt a moment of surprise and admiration for the tiny old man as he watched the fierceness in his eyes. He knew for a fact that this man was a scholar who knew nothing of fighting and for a little nobody like that to challenge him; it had to be the first time. It was really a pity he had to end his life but orders were orders.

Arief looked at his attacker's eyes and he read the intention in them clearly. Dread slid down his back like a cold knife and he felt bile rising up his throat. He opened his mouth and he felt a giant hand clamp over his throat. There was an excruciating pain and then nothing. 

Bear looked down at the limp form he was holding by the throat and shook his head in pity. Snapped like a twig the man's larynx. He did not even get the chance to feel any satisfaction. He looked down at the piece of old paper in his hand and shook his head. All of this for such a crummy thing. His boss sure had strange tastes. 

As if his thought had summoned him, Bear suddenly felt the presence in his mind and it was impatience. Bear looked behind him at the halls that were crawling with soldiers, men trained to fight and who could appreciate the bloodlust and beauty of violence and sighed. 

He lifted the limp form of the scholar and threw it against the large colored window. 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Glass shattered and rained down over them. Usagi cried out even as she felt a hard body throw itself at her. She realized immediately that Endymion was shielding her with his body against the raining shards of glass. Something landed with a loud thud not far from them but Usagi barely noticed as Endymion shifted his body at that time and looked down on her with worried eyes. "Are you alright?" He asked worriedly.

Wordlessly Usagi nodded her head. 

Something had landed not far from them. Something large and heavy. With a warrior's instinct Endymion quickly rolled up to his feet dragging Usagi with him. 

"Well what we have here? Did I interrupt to lovebirds?" A dark rumbling voice like thunder spoke up. 

Before Usagi react fast enough to turn towards the voice, Endymion was already in front of her shielding her with his body. He held out a hand keeping her behind him even as the other went to the sword resting against his hip. 

"How did you get out?" Hearing the tone of voice, Usagi knew it was the royal persona speaking again. 

The man did not answer but he must have made some kind of gesture or face because Usagi could feel Endymion's body tensing in response. Frustration took her. She wanted to know who the newcomer was her gallant prince's wide back was blocking her view. She shifted to get a better view, trying to stand on her tiptoes only to stumble slightly as she stepped on something. 

Looking over her shoulder she looked at the heap wrapped in dark wool. The light shifted and her eyes widened as she realized that the heap was a human form. Moonlight shone against a very familiar white face. His head was bent in a strange angle and numerous cut and bruises covered his skin. Usagi did not need to see the angle to know that he was dead, the empty eyes spoke volumes. 

Terror clawed up her chest and before she knew it she let out a scream. A cry of distress as well as pain at the sight of the dead Master. 

Distracted by her cries, Endymion pulled out his sword in seconds and whirled around pushing her aside. He also recognized the Master and storm clouds gathered in his eyes. "You'll pay for this." He growled then lower under his breath he hissed. "Run and call the guards."

Endymion ran and lunged towards Bear, the bandit leader they had caught earlier. The giant looked at the charging man as if he was a pesky mosquito and waited. Then at the last moment when Endymion swung his sword, he moved with unbelievable agility and sidesteped. As Endymion moved past, he lashed with his large arm. Endymion jumped to the side, his agility saving his life. Bear's fist caught the side of his head and he pain exploded there. He flew in the air landing five feet away. 

"Endymion!" Usagi cried out and ran to his side. He moved to stand up, his ear still ringing and his sight still clouded. 

"Get out of here." He told her. 

"Not without you." She told him firmly. Even as the bandit chuckled evilly. "No need send the lovely wench away. I'll send ye both to hell."

Endymion gritted his teeth against the pain and closed his eyes. He concentrated ignoring the man's taunting words. Somehow he had to keep her safe. Energy flowed into him, rejuvenating and empowering him. He heard a twin gasp.

Opening his eyes once again he managed to just catch Bear's surprised look before it was replaced with a smile. "Well I be damned. Ye surprised me boy." 

"Glad to be of assistance. Wouldn't want you to be disappointed when I send you back to the dungeons." Endymion told him and rose to his feet. He brushed the dust from his immaculate spotless black uniform. He shifted his sword to get a better grip. Eerie purple light surrounded the sword, the ancient magic that followed the Royal family of Terra responding to his power up. 

"Leave." Endymion told his companion and ran at his opponent. They met and clashed. The metal of their weapons crackling and sparkling with each swipe. 

Usagi looked at the fighting duo and knew in her heart that there Endymion was no match for the bandit. He was a lot more powerful than he seemed earlier today. If was it was just brute strength, Endymion might still have had a chance because of his agility and smaller frame. Unfortunately the man was also very fast for someone of his size, several times Endymion just barely shifted in time to take a blow that could have become deadly if taken in full force. He might have had a chance if he used his powers and conjured the roses but he would not. She knew that in his heart. He only used those for monsters and whatever Bear was he was still a human being and the honorable streak within Endymion prevented him from using what he considered to be an unfair method on his opponent. 

As Endymion staggered once again from a blow her heart steeled and her mind made. She touched the brooch that she kept in the hidden pocket of her skirt and cried, "Moon Prism Power makeup!" Light flashed around her and she was in her Sailor Moon outfit.

"Well well well. Ye kids just keep on surprising me." Bear mused as he looked at the girl in the skimpy outfit, clearly recognizing her as one of the kids that had trashed his hideout earlier today. "I'm going to enjoy beating ye up. Especially ye little girl." He nodded towards Moon.

Moon tried not to swallow too visibly but somehow the threat did nothing to ease her mind. Those hands of his really looked like rocks. "I'm Sailor Moon. Defender of love and justice. And for that horrible deed just you did to that poor man I shall punish you." She pointed at the crumpled body of Arief.

Bear blinked. "What shit are ye sprouting girl? Talk like a normal human." 

At that that Endymion took his chance to attack. Bear hissed as his sword cut a deep gash on his shoulder. Growling under his breath he swung out with his arm. Their weapons locked but only briefly with his immense strength Bear pushed and Endymion staggered against the force. As he tried to gain his balance, he did not have enough time to dodge the smashing fist that came. It connected with his middle and knocked his breath. He felt the searing pain and coughed. Blood splattered the ground even as he landed, bounced and rolled on the ground. 

"I'll rip ye neck off ye scrawny head." Bear promised and took a step forward. Something hit him, a glancing blow that stung more than hurt. He followed the golden disc and watched it fly back to its owner's hand. It was a tiara. 

"Stay away from him, creep." Moon ordered her eyes hot. 

Bear touched his bare arm and felt the wetness. He lifted the finger to his lips tasting the salty flavor of his own blood. "Yer no match for me, girl. Not with that toy of yers."

"Oh yeah how about us then?" A new voice asked. 

Startled Moon whirled around and a beatific smile lit her face as she saw her friends all lined up together above the steps looking down on them and best of all they were powered up. Kunzite was in the middle his broad sword shining in the night. He was flanked by Nephrite and Zoicite on one side and Jadeite, Uranus and Neptune on the other. The latter two were not carrying any weapons but Uranus had an energy bolt in her hand that crackled dangerously enough. She arched a brow at Bear challengingly daring him to answer the question she had thrown at him. 

"Well, care to take on all of us?" Zoicite asked icily. He lifted his hand and a crystal shard formed in his palm.

The group ran up to Sailor Moon who was helping Endymion up. 

"Are you all right, my Lord?" Kunzite asked his liege his eyes never leaving Bear as the bandit slowly backed away from them. 

"Yeah." He grunted in pain revealing that he had lied. Neptune fell down on her knees and gently touched his middle. He hissed.

"He most probably has a few broken ribs. It might not be wise to move him." She murmured.

"Zoicite take a look." Kunzite ordered. 

The younger man kept his eyes on Bear of a while clearly reluctant to give up the fight but since he was the one with the most medical skills he sighed and let the crystal vaporize and moved to take over the place Neptune vacated. 

"Give it up, Bear. You're outnumbered." Kunzite told the bandit calmly. "Even a man like you has to realize when he's outnumbered."

Bear looked at them for a while as if contemplating the offer and then he smiled. It was not a reassuring smile. "I think not." He told them and moved swiftly.

The warriors tensed but Jadeite with the sharpest eyes followed his movement and shouted. "Look out! He's going to throw something." 

"Cover your eyes and hold your breath!" Kunzite barked as they dove to the ground. 

An explosion was heard and then a fierce scream, something guttural and piercing nearly shattering their eardrums. Moon held her hands against her ears and whimpered at the pain. Beside her she felt Endymion shift. Fearing for his safety she took a risk and peered through slightly opened lids. 

The sight made her gasp and bulge her eyes in horror, the creature was out of a nightmare. A black thing, darker than night, it reminded her of a shadow as it shifted in shape. Yet it had the movement and substance that reminded Moon of slime. The only color it had was the yellow circle at the top that must've been the eye. The mouth was a jagged hole from which smoke came out. It had neither arms nor legs. 

The creature screamed again and suddenly arms started to grow from it its body, well maybe not arms as much as limbs maybe? She had no word to describe it. Unconsciously her hand tightened on the tiara; the gold winked. The movement seemed to catch the creature's attention as the yellow eye zoomed in on her. One slimy limb reached for her. Without a thought Moon threw the tiara. The weapon touched the creature and smoke sizzled like acid burning and the limbs started to melt. The creature cried out. Moon took a relieved sigh of relief but it was short lived when to her horror three more limbs started to grow from the creature's body.

"Shit!"

"Look out!"

"There's more!"

Chaos erupted as everybody moved into action. Kunzite went into melee immediately his giant sword chopping off two limbs with one swipe. But the stump quickly grew out new ones. Nephrite took up a defensive position in front of Endymion and tried using his spear to smash the attacking limbs. Zoicite used his crystals to nail more to the ground where it permitted. Jadeite backed Kunzite while the larger man took on a more aggressive stand, combining his sword with his shields. Neptune used her agility to dodge in between and threw her attacks at him. It did not seem to work though it made the ground more slippery. Uranus did the same with better results. 

"Argh dammit! How many arms can a creature like this have? We've chopped enough to make a woodsman envious!" Jadeite snarled and threw himself to the side just as a sharp limb came at him threatening to skewer him like a stake. Nephrite was the first to discover that the so called harmless slimy limbs could in fact turn sharp as well; Jadeite rolled on the ground and came nimbly to his feet. 

"That's because they keep returning to the body." Neptune told him and pointed at one of the limbs that Kunzite had chopped off. Indeed it was slithering back to the main body and reattaching itself. 

Jadeite grunted and smacked aside another two with the flat side of his sword. Then using another flying limb as leverage, stepped on it and jumped higher, flying against the creature. His blue eyes narrowing as he came closer to the main body. Suddenly two more limbs came flying out. Jadeite swung with his sword and looped them off and shifted his wrist enough to slash a gash against the main body. Green slimy substance dripped from the wound. Half a dozen sharp projectiles came from all directions. He teleported right before they stabbed the place he was in from all sides. 

"Well we're going to have to figure out something. We can't go on like this the whole night." Nephrite pointed out and deftly turned his wrist and swung out with his weapon and hit aside another one. A dozen or more flew against him like missiles. Grabbing the spear with both hands he lowered the weapon to the ground and quickly stepped on the butt, breaking a third of the spear. Then holding the short weapon he started moving his hand hands so fast it looked like he was holding a large rounded shield in front of him. 

"Fire might work since he doesn't seem affected by my attacks." Neptune pointed out. 

"Who's gonna run for that? We've all got our hands full." Jadeite shouted from the other end and let out a hiss of pain when he wasn't quick enough to dodge. 

"Where the hell are the guards?" Nephrite demanded feeling his strength ebb from him. Of them all he had been the one to take on most injuries as he was the main shield to protect the injured Endymion. He sported numerous cuts on his body which were starting to give him a burning sensation, leading him to believe that there might be another substance in the creature's blood. 

"They're busy or haven't you noticed we're not the only ones with problems?" Kunzite called out from the mist of limbs. The man was insane. He lectured Jadeite on being reckless and yet he was standing closest to the main body of them all with the creatures long flying arms around him. Yet he managed to hold his own, having an eerie accuracy of attacking just the right place at the right time with his sword as well as the dark energy bolt he threw. 

For the first time though Nephrite took his attention a bit farther and realized that the sounds of battle was not just coming from their part but everywhere. What the hell happened?

"Well Nephrite is right, we have to do something." Endymion said faintly, pain clearly clouding his voice. Despite Nephrite's best effort he had not been able to deflect all attacks and Endymion had been forced to take up battle too and with his injured side it was clear that each movement caused him immense pain. "So far it seems most susceptible to Moon's and my attacks. With Kunzite and Zoicite being second and Uranus last. How about we focus our attacks with the help of these three groups?" 

"A most astute observation." Kunzite commended. "I was just about to suggest the same thing. The creature's main body will be the target. Neptune and Nephrite will be the ones that draw the limbs out. Uranus and Zoicite can team up and attack from one side and I'll do the other. We take the bottom half. Since the two of you have the long ranged attacks you can take the upper half. Jadeite you will protect them. Create a shield around the three of you if you have to. Alright any questions?" There was none. "Then move to position!"

Nephrite charged to the side. Jadeite jumped backwards and disappeared appearing in the spot Nephrite left behind. Zoicite nimbly jumped and somersaulted between the attacking limbs to get closer to Uranus even as she did the same. Moon and Endymion took a closer step to Jadeite and lifted their hands together. Her tiara flew from her hand at the same time as a red rose flew from his. They came together in the air and spun one above the other towards the creature's head. 

The creatures seemed to have read their intent and flared out with another limb. Moon's tiara and Endymion's rose cut through the limb smoothly but the touch managed to deflect their motion so that instead of hitting the creature straight in the head the two weapons connected to the side. There was an explosion, a blinding flash of pure white light from the impact. The creature roared. The roar became quickly a screech as Uranus, Zoicite and Kunzite launched their attacks from below. 

They held their breath and hope soared. Their good spirits did not last long though, when the light diminished the creature was still there.

"Uh oh. I think it's mad now." Jadeite pointed out and took a firmer hold on his sword as he braced himself for the counterattack.

That was an understatement. The creature let out a screech that nearly punctured their eardrums. The force enough to send several of them down on their knees. 

"Watch it!" Kunzite's warning just came in time as the creature suddenly launched all its attacks at once. The flaring limbs shot towards them like arrows. 

Moon only had time to brace herself and catch her tiara as it came back before the force of the attack connected with Jadeite's shield with enough power to send them all flying through the air. She barely heard the grunt Jadeite made before he disappeared into the thick bushes before the world went tumbling on her. She landed on the hard ground with enough force to bounce, grunting at the pain and tried to roll to her feet. She sensed more then saw a danger coming towards her and instinctively she threw her tiara towards it. As her eyesight came back to her she saw her tiara destroy two of the creature's black limbs coming towards her but the third one it missed. She tried to dodge and felt the pain as the razor sharp side cut at her waist then before she could take her tiara as it came flying back towards her the limb recoiled and snapped around her waist. She let out a gasp of pain and surprise as she felt herself being lifted through the air.

"Sailor Moon!" Endymion cried out and made a grab for her. 

She felt something snap against her throat and saw her gold locket in his fist. She tried to squirm and cried out in pain. It was like being ensnarled with a bendable blade and slowly being cut open. Tears filled her eyes. 

"Sailor Moon!" She heard Jadeite call out to her somewhere behind but she could not see him nor Endymion through the tears blinding her eyes. All around her she heard the sounds of fighting and the flashes of explosions. 

"Damn, he's too fast I can't reach her." Uranus shouted.

"Don't move or you'll be cut into two." Kunzite warned her. 

"Hold on Sailor Moon. We'll get you out somehow." Neptune called to her. 

Through pain filled mind Moon heard Nephrite swear viscously as he hacked his way forward. Zoicite called out a warning to him. There were more shuffles and movement. 

Her body was becoming numb. She could barely see straight. They became blurry visions, the sounds became more and more distant but she could still hear them working hard, taking risks trying to save her and backing each other up. 

Everyone, they were doing their best. Putting their own lives at risk to save her, her comrades, her friends. 

She was becoming weaker. Her eyes wanted to shut close. She stared at the creature's eyes as she seemed to float towards it. Its mouth seemed so big. She never noticed it had a mouth. So blood red too. Then again it must have to have let out such a piercing cry. Was she going to be eaten up? She did not like the idea much but she guessed she did not have much of a choice. 

She wished she had had the courage to tell Endymion the truth about herself. She wanted to see her best friends again one last time and her mother. 

__

I'm sorry everyone. I guess this is the end. She thought closing her eyes and resigned herself to her fate.

__

"NO!!!!!" A strong voice shouted, startling her enough to snap her eyes open again. 

"Endymion, no!" Kunzite shouted. 

Moon could not see but suddenly she was free again and she fell, right into strong warm, comforting arms. Her arms instinctively wrapped herself around her rescuer's neck. She blinked and looked up at Endymion's face, so close to her own.

His dark blue eyes were concerned. "Are you alright?" He asked her worriedly.

She looked at him then at their surrounding and then back at him with confused eyes. "How?" She asked.

He gave her a lopsided smile. "No idea. As long as we are floating lets not worry about that now. How about we finish this creature off? Feel up to that?" He asked and handed her the tiara.

She took the golden circlet from his hand and nodded her head in affirmation. He shifted her in his arms so that he was only holding her with one arm and together they threw their weapons at the creature. The tiara and the rose pierced the creature straight in the eye. It stilled and then let out a piercing soul shattering scream. A light appeared between at the center of the eye, it grew, expanded and then it exploded. 

The seven young people turned around and covered their eyes holding up a hand expecting body parts to fall on them only to blink and stare when nothing happened. Looking around they saw no signs of the creature, the only thing that was left was an eerie silence. 

Moon and Endymion slowly floated down. The moment their feet touched the ground both staggered as pain crashed down on their wounded body. Supporting hands came from all places.

"That was quite a stunt you pulled." Kunzite told his prince as he gently lowered the younger man to the ground. "You could have been killed." His tone said that while he was not happy about Endymion's actions he was glad he was okay.

Endymion grinned weakly. "No problem I knew you guys would back me up. Right, Jadeite?" He asked over his shoulder at the blonde general who was lying on the ground panting like he had run for his life. 

Peering up with a weak smile of his own, Jadeite said. "Yeah. Just don't do that again. At least not when I'm around. I nearly pissed myself when you went charging in like that and it came attacking you on all fronts. You could have been skewered like a pig."

Kunzite made a face at that analogy. His heart had nearly stopped at that time. He feared it might have if Jadeite's shield had not come up in the nick of time to surround Endymion. This improvement of his skills could not have had a better timing. Nor could Endymion's new skill of levitating himself. 

They would have to figure it out later, now they had more pressing matters at hand. "Nephrite, Jadeite see if you can find out what happened to the rest of the castle. Zoicite –"

"I'm already on it." Zoicite said interrupting him. 

"Good. I'll expect a report in the Briefing Room in one hour." Kunzite told them and lifted Endymion to his feet with one arm thrown over his neck as support. 

"Sailor Moon." Endymion whispered. Sweat plastered his head and his eyes were glazed with pain. 

"Don't worry. We'll take care of her." Neptune told him softly. Uranus lifted the girl into her arms. She had lost consciousness. Blood was still steadily soaking her white suit. 

"Let me know of you need anything." Endymion told the girls. They nodded and sharing a look they took a leaping jump and disappeared into the night.

Endymion watched them go, unconsciously touching the locket in his hand its chain still wrapped around his wrist. As Kunzite helped him back to the castle Endymion stared at the locket. Strange, it looked familiar somehow, as if he had seen it somewhere before. 

As they walked, with Kunzite more or less carrying the slenderer man, the platinum haired general watched his liege with a mental shaking of his head. His intuition told him that Endymion was slowly starting to uncover the truth that most of them already knew. This locket was the same as the one Travis the squire carried. He wondered how Endymion would take the news. That the woman he was in love with and the squire he always squabbled with were both the same person. 

Back at the battlefield, Jadeite was staring gloomily at the remains of Master Arief. He had been about to run off with Nephrite to do Kunzite's bidding when his eyes had caught hold of the dead mutilated body of the master and had stopped in his tracks. 

His hands were clenched into tight fists at his sides. There was a hard knot in his guts accompanied by a choking sensation in his chest. He felt rage like a roaring inferno building inside him and he wanted to smash something, anything. 

Zoicite looked up from his work of scanning the place where the main body of the creature had been to look at his friend. Sighing he pocketed his scanner and went over to put a hand on his shoulder. "Hey pull yourself together man. There's nothing to be done for him. All we can do now is find out what happened."

"We both know what happened. Bear broke out of his the dungeon and Master Arief ended up as road kill." Jadeite told him darkly.

Personally Zoicite thought there must've been more behind what but he knew that Jadeite was not in the humor to listen. So he kept quiet.

"It's my fault you know? Kunzite told me to double the guards. I wouldn't heed his warnings. I was too arrogant. I thought he was defeated. I defeated him. There was no way he could escape. God, I killed him. I killed them all with my damn arrogance." Jadeite closed his eyes in defeat, the torment evident in his voice. 

Clearly worried about Jadeite's state of mind, Zoicite grabbed hold of the man's arm and pulled him away. "Come on. I've got enough information here to make a theory of what happened just now to satisfy Kunzite. Let's see if we can find out more at the dungeons. There's no sense beating ourselves with guilt until we find out more about what exactly happened. Obviously there had been a breach of security of some kind. I refuse to believe that Bear could have gotten himself out of his cell without help from outside."

A lot of things did not make sense here and Zoicite was going to go to the bottom of this even if it was the last thing he did. He cast a look over his shoulder as he dragged his cousin away and his heart hardened with resolve. 

Somebody was going to pay for this. 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Safely hidden behind the tall bushes, Mina watched the two men with pursed lips. It was a clear indication that she was thinking deeply about something. Her thoughts were however interrupted when a small voice said from below her left side. 

"Mina, why didn't you go out there and help?" 

Mina turned her head to gaze down at the white cat with the half moon crescent on his forehead and beamed a smile at him. 

"There was no need they managed quite well on their own." 

"Yes but there had been a moment there when that was not so clear. If the prince hadn't charged in to rescue her like that, she could have been killed." Artemis leaned his head sideways looking up at her curiously. "Didn't you feel anything when she nearly became that creature's supper?"

Despite the innocent way Artemis phrased the question, Mina knew there was nothing innocent about his inquiry. She knew him too well. 

For the last few years Artemis had been her constant companion. At first Mina had resented the watchdog; well in his case maybe watch-cat, knowing that it was due to the fiasco with the Saturn war. But over time Mina had grown to appreciate his companionship and even be grateful for it, especially during her time of need when none of her best friends could be there for her. The two of them changed from being mentor and student into just friends. In many ways Artemis knew Mina better than anyone else. The same way that she knew him better than most even Luna she would wager.

"If you mean fear for her life, yes Artemis. But both you and Luna have taught me better than to let my emotions rule in a battle. Besides the queen specifically told me not to use my powers here." 

From the frown Artemis gave her, Mina knew that he was not totally convinced about her words but she only gave him a wide eyed innocent look which told him that was the only answer he was going to get from her. In the end he gave up and started muttering under his breath. Despite her sharp hearing Mina was not able to catch the words, the only definable one was Luna, which explained several things to her also.

So Artemis _had_ been sent to spy on her. She had wondered why they had insisted the feline to accompany her to Earth when they had been conscious of never letting the cats near Earthlings before. Was this a test to see whether Mina would follow her order or follow her heart like she and the others did three years ago? Or were they trying to find out something else? Well it was worth looking into later, knowing Artemis he would no doubt let more slip if she prodded him in the right way.

At the moment she would concentrate on the things she did have information on, such as what she had seen tonight. The existence of the two senshis had explained a lot of things to her. Mina wondered if Usagi was aware of the fact that she had been under her mother's watch the whole time, even while she had been away from home. No wonder Mina's aunt could sit so quietly and at ease for the past three years, she had two other senshis looking out for her. Uranus and Neptune, air and sea elements. They certainly showed great powers, especially the blonde one. She had never seen a person controlling the air elements, using her powers quite the same way as Uranus had done. It was quite impressive. 

The four guardians of the prince had been another surprise. She had heard rumors that Earth had their own versions of guardians the same as the planets of the Silver Alliance, but nothing compared to seeing it with her own eyes. Mina had to admit she was intrigued. Not just with their powers, which were quite mysterious since they did not seem to control any elements as far as she could see; with the exception of Zoicite and his throwing crystals. No she was far more interested in the men wielding that power. Training under her aunt's supervision had taught her that usually it was not the power rather the people using them that were of interest. Powers and titles could be stripped away but what was inside a person the package they carried, that formed them: their backgrounds, their experience, their personalities and mind; that was where the secret lay and with the right combination and incentive, power and titles could be gained too. If one can understand the person, one had the weapon to deal with him or her too. With powers like theirs, these four men were a force that was to be reckoned with and watched over most carefully. 

Still the most astounding revelation tonight had been the growing affections between her cousin and the crown prince of Earth. Actually growing affection was too mild; those two were already in love. Mina knew her cousin well enough to read her and from the way the prince had risked everything to save Usagi, Mina knew he felt the same way though neither seemed to be willing to confess. While it warmed her heart to see her cousin that happy, the part of her that was a leader also saw the complications and the political effects this would cause and she was not thrilled at all. 

Mina glanced at the ground where the creature had stood and wrinkled her nose in distaste of the situation. For someone to be able to summon a dark creature like that strong magic was at work. She knew only a handful of people in their galaxy with that kind of power and so far her intelligence had not informed her that they were eyeing Earth. So the question was, had something changed to make them see Earth in a different light or was there a new player in the game? The fact that the man had looks and even the same name as one of the men involved in Mako's parents murder did not sit well with her. She made a mental note to set her people out to sniff around this attack. Her instincts told her that this was too much of a coincidence. 

One thing was sure, this trip had given her much more information that she had anticipated and much to ponder about too. She wondered if Rei and the others had better luck with their tasks. 

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AN: Ok so the chapter became ALOT longer than I had first planned out. I still hope it was worth the wait for u all. =) 

Please drop a review or email. I would really like to know what parts u like and what parts u don't as it would help me to write better. 

// Fenix


	14. Chapter 12 In search of the truth

** **

12. In search of the truth

She had heard that things had turned for the worse for Saturn ever since the civil war started, but she had never expected things to be this bad. 

Mako watched the starving people lying on the filthy street of Craven, the once beautiful proud capital of Saturn, with a sickening feeling in her stomach. Men and women, young and old; most wore the same kind of look; a look of despair and desolation. It was as if they knew that all hope was gone and this was the reality that they had to accept because no other kind would ever be offered to them. They lived and yet they were not alive. They moved but without any meaning or purpose other than to survive for just another day. 

She could not help but wonder, if this was how the capital looked then how much worse was it outside on the countryside?  How did the rest of planet fare? How could this be possible? How could a planet at the height of its power become reduced to a society on the brink of destruction in just a few years? 

Mako glanced at her surroundings, her vivid green eyes taking in not just tattered clothing and the filth but the decaying buildings, the battered street. Where once majestic cobbled stones paved the street, now lay only empty sockets here and there, signs of the battles that had once raged at this very place. She wondered if it had been really worth it. Was power really worth the price that was paid? What did it matter which side won if the planet they were going to rule was this? It was a place where law and order did not live and only power and strength decided whom would survive. No wonder the amount of refugees to the other planets never subsided. Who would want to live in a place like this? Except for criminals that is, Mako added grimly.

She stopped in front of an establishment, the worn sign above showing three dices. On it was written in Common: Devil's Luck. Briefly she hoped some of that luck might rub off on her. Straightening her back and making sure that the knives she had strapped to her body were within easy reach, Mako took a deep breath and entered the place.

The blast of music and shouts slammed against her like a fist and only by the sheer force of will did she keep herself from staggering back. As she walked through the grimy place, where food and ale littered the floor along with cards and dices and some things that she did not even want to know, her full lips thinned slightly in disgust. 

 Instead of taking a seat by one of the three empty tables by the wall, Mako purposely headed for the counter on the opposite side of the entrance. She used the time to observe her surroundings, taking in the positions of the windows and the doorways as well as the patrons. The smoky haze filling the place clouded her visions but she was sure she could count at least twenty heads if not twenty three. The table by the corner was shadowed by the great furnace and she could not make out if it was only one or four sitting there. Every one of the men in the inn looked dangerous and Mako knew that while the women seemed harmless, appearance could be deceiving. Mina had taught her that. 

"What wil' be?" The man behind the counter asked all the while not stopping from polishing the mug in his large beefy hand. The rag he was using, Mako noticed was darkish brown and most certainly not its original color to start with. 

"Mead." Mako told him gruffly. 

The man cast one dubious look at her and set the down the mug in his hand with a slam. Hard training kept her from jumping though it was a close call. Instead Mako met his eyes steadily. Seeming satisfied with her reaction, the man grabbed the mug and left to pour her drink. From the corner of her eye, Mako observed the people sitting closest to her. None however fit the description of the men she was looking for. 

"Twenty copper." The man barked as she slammed the mug back on the counter. Mead sloshed over, splattering on the surface and on Mako's hair and leather clothing. 

Without a word, Mako tossed the coins to him. They disappeared quickly into his fist and in a hidden pocket, no doubt one of many. _Twenty copper?_ Talk about highway robbery. She could buy a round for that back home. What did the man think he was serving? Venusian red? 

Mako lifted the mug, took one swallow, grimaced and spit out the content on the floor. She slammed the mug down, hands going for the ugly looking hooked knife strapped against her hip and demanded. "You have a secret wish to see your maker, old man?"

The inn had gone deadly quiet as all eyes focused on the scene at the counter. 

The man looked at her carefully, his dark eyes carefully taking in her show control and started chuckling. "Yer alright, kid" 

It was as if the room took a deep breath of relief and suddenly the volume increased once more as everyone went about their business. The man took away the mug, wiping his ever present rag on the surface and set down another mug of mead in front of Mako. Mako cast a suspicious look at the thing but seeing the slight smile on the man's face; she grudgingly picked it up and drank. She never could resist a challenge. 

It tasted just fine.  

"I gather yer new to town." The bartender said. 

"Aye. Came straight from Jupiter." She figured there was no need to lie. She had the typical looks of a Jovian. 

The man nodded his head as if having his suspicions confirmed. "Is there any need to ask what drew ye here?"

In reply Mako gave him a devilish grin. 

He shook his head in resignation. "Ye and the rest of the fools of this system." 

"It's a great way of making a name." 

"Aye an even faster way of dying." Came the reply. 

A chill ran up Mako's spine. Not because she feared death but because the tone of his voice. What kind of a thing were these Tournaments? Still no matter what, she needed to find Bear and if that meant she had to walk through the very fires of Hell to do that, then so be it. 

Lifting her chin defiantly she said, "Only the weak will fall. And I'm not one of those."

He shrugged in reply. "Ye had yer warning." His tone said clearly that if she wanted to be foolish enough to kill herself then it was none of his business. She should have felt annoyed but somehow the fact that he was looking out for her, a total stranger, moved her somewhat. 

"If this place is so bad, how come you're staying?" She asked mildly and took another swallow. This stuff wasn't so bad considering the place. 

"No place else te go. Here I make a living. I rely on myself. Better that than become like those dogs waiting hand and foot for Selenity and her nobles to throw them a scrap of food whenever the mood strikes."

Mako stiffened slightly at the insult, her instinctive protective nature coming to her Queen's defense but a small voice warned her to tread carefully and to remember her agenda. 

"True." She forced the tense muscles on her shoulder to relax. "I would rather rely on myself too, which is why I'm here." She took a lazy swipe of the mead. 

"Yer that confident?"  
  


She did not answer him but the look she gave spoke volumes. 

"So ye want to try yer hand at replacing Mook huh? Word travel fast. Yer the fourteenth person to approach me now." He shook his head, a clear gesture that said he thought she was a fool.

Now they were getting somewhere.

Looking steadily in the eyes, Mako said softly. "No I mean to finish the job he was never able to and that is to win."

"Great words. And what makes ye think ye can manage that? We get a lot of loudmouth here, Mook was one of them and when it was time to deliver the goods he failed… fatally."

"That was his problem and my gain. If you can arrange for me to meet Grim I'll prove that I can do the job right." Mako met his eyes steadily and fought hard not to show the eagerness. She couldn't believe her luck. Maybe the place wasn't so badly named after all. 

There was a long moment of silence between them and in the end he broke it by chuckling. "Yer bold. I give ye that. And certainly fresher in yer approach than the others before."

He did not say anything more but looked at her expectantly. Mako knew what he wanted but something told her that it would be the wrong move so instead she crossed her arms over her chest and waited. His eyes followed her movements and for a moment there they lingered there, the fight fitting leather enhancing her generous forms and then he smiled.

"Ye got guts. I like that. Very well. Wait."

He threw down the rag and disappeared through one of the back doorways. Mako fought hard not to show the jubilation she felt. Things were going far smoother than she had anticipated. Of course she knew this was only but the first step. She still needed to convince Grim that she was skilled enough to join his team for the next tournament. Time was of an essence here. She did not know how long she had before Mina dug out where she was and hauled her back at the scuff of her neck. In the sense of digging out information, the woman was scary. 

With the reappearance of the bartender, Mako pushed the thought of Mina's wrath, which could outshine both Mako's and Rei's, to the back of her mind. Moving lithely on her feet she followed the man as he led her further inside the inn, down the basement and along narrow dark tunnels that even challenged her good sense of location. In the end she saw the light at the end of the tunnel and soon they reached a small room that was starkly decorated except for the great amount of weapons and armors stacked against one wall. 

There were five men in the room ranging from big to small, each wore black headbands. Mako focused her attention on the man that was sitting down. He looked to be about in his early forties. The fire flickered and reflected on the top of his bald head. A pair of long bushy eyebrows hung down at the side of his face. The eyes were small and reminded her of hard marble balls and showed as much in emotions. Despite his not so impressive figure, the man reeked of danger.

No wonder they said the warlords of Saturn were among the most dangerous criminals on this system. And from what she heard Grim was considered as one of the less harmful ones, she wondered how the others were like then, warlords such as Druscilla, Lance and Criton.

"So Bob here tells me you want to join us." Grim said. His marble eyes observed her and as they roamed over her body and the tight fitting clothes he sneered.  "In case you haven't noticed little girl, this is a competition about skill, about power, not a beauty contest."

His men snickered from the side.

Obviously women were not considered highly among them. Typical, the moment society moves backwards so does the position of women. Any other day Mako would have taught them a lesson but now was not the time to fight for the Women's Liberation Front. 

"I can assure you I did not choose the clothes because of how they look but for their practical use."

"Hardly easy to shed." One of the men sneered from the side. 

Mako cast him a glance and the next moment a knife flew from her hand and thudded against the wall. There was a wild oath coming from the man as he staggered back. He was touching his left cheek and when he lifted his palm, there was blood on it. A thin red line stroked his cheek.

"You bitch. You'll pay for that." He snarled and pulled out his scimitar from the scabbard. 

"Stay your hand." Grim ordered. "At least for the moment." He added and gave Mako a speculative look. "You have a lot guts, girl. Drawing weapon and attacking my men in my presence. I like that in person but don't get too cocky."

Mako lifted her chin. "I came here to offer my fighting skills. Not to be insulted. I don't tolerate it outside and it does not mean I will start doing it here."

Grim stroked his chin. "What's your name, girl?"

"Tasha"

There was a brief silence. 

"I heard about you: a ruthless woman who seeks fame and travels around the system finding fitting opponents to challenge. Rumors had it you were captured on Thebe, by the Jovian militia." 

Either rumors traveled fast, Mako mused, or these warlords had their eyes and ears in more places than even what the Alliance knew of. Only a few days has passed since Tasha was captured and Mako got the idea to use her as her ticket to worm into the underground world of Saturn and finding Bear. It had taken her quite a while to convince Granson to get along with the idea but knowing him, Mako knew he would do his outmost to keep a lid on Tasha's capture. She filed away this information for future usage. 

Waving a negligent hand in the air she said, "No more than a slight inconvenience. My opponent and I were in the middle of a battle when the local militia came. He knew he was not my equal so he made sure he had some backup. Anyways I quickly rectified that mistake."

"Impressive. I hear the Lord Captain captured you. Not many can beat him."

"He was a difficult opponent. If there wouldn't be such a hassle over his death I would much have liked to have had a real match with him. But as it was then I was more interested in escape."

"And now you figured you're lonely wandering days are over and you need to find partners. So you came here to Saturn, the paradise for outlaws, criminals and scum of societies."

"Well I can think of many other ways to describe myself than the ones you used but yes I guess you're right." Mako told him dryly. "So what do you say? My reputation itself should tell you I'm far more skilled than that poor sod Mook, not to mention the lackeys you have here." 

"Watch it, bitch. Before I cut that tongue of yours." The warning came from a small man crouched by the wall. He wore a mixture of black and red clothes, his black face nearly hidden in the shadow but there was a rabid look in his eyes that spoke volumes of the nature of his mind.

Mako ignored him instead she looked at that Grim, knowing that it was him that she had to convince. 

There was a long moment of silence. The tension lying heavily in the room, like a snake poised to attack. Everyone was waiting, waiting for what Grim would say. 

Grim shifted and looked up at her and in his eyes she knew the truth even before he opened his mouth to speak. 

"Kill her." 

The moment he finished his sentence, the room exploded in activities. 

Mako already prepared, acted quickly by pivoting and slamming her boot into the first attacker. She dodged a slashing sword, even as she threw the knives hidden inside her clothes as more weapons came sailing her way. She dodged two more attacks but the third one slammed against her stomach sending her sailing against the wall. Pain exploded along the back and she tasted the saltiness of blood in her mouth. Jumping to the side she hit another man on the wrist, a disarming chop that Rei had taught her and the weapon he carried immediately clanged to the floor. Mako jumped down caught hold the weapon, somersaulted and came back on her feet with the sword slashing in a wild arc. The slight reflection of weapons warned her just in time and she managed to parry as the small man who had threatened to cut out her tongue earlier, attacked her with two strange looking knives with three blades. As luck would have it the blade of her sword caught in between his. She used all her strength and pushed the man backwards sending him flying against one of his partners. 

Breathing slightly heavily, Mako took a moment to observe the battlefield using the time she had bought. She cursed her bad luck when she realized that she was stuck in the middle of the room with all four men between her and the exit and Grim still sitting behind her. 

Each man carried a different weapon but all four wore the same look, the look of a predator as it sensed a prey and was just on the brink of attacking. Dangerous men to begin with, but turned even more deadly with the combination of bloodlust. She wasn't sure she could take them on for long without being powered up as Sailor Jupiter. But she couldn't use that, not without blowing her cover and warning her enemies. So all she could depend on at this moment was her skill and luck. Something told her that if she could only survive for another ten minutes than her problems would be over.  

She set her teeth and angled her head in a way that her friends would have recognized as her pose when she was determined to see things through to the end; even if it did turn bloody. She came here for answers and she would not leave without one.

For the next few minutes the battle was fierce. She received more injuries and cut in that short period of time than she had in the entire ten years training under Artemis' tutelage. Never before had she been glad of the strictness and harsh training that she had gotten from her mentors than just then. She needed all the stamina, speed, strength and fighting skill she could muster to just keep herself alive. Her muscles were aching and she could hear the roaring in her head as blood coursed through her body the pace increased due to the fastened heartbeats. Strangely it was exhilarating as well. Because she was pitching her skills against men whom were known for being dangerous and skilful fighters and she was actually managing to hold on her own without being powered up. It gave her a sense of excitement with each attack she managed to parry and a great sense of satisfaction seeing her enemies react from each wound she inflicted. 

Then all of a sudden the fight was interrupted by the appearance of something very large as it launched in to the room and right against Mako's opponents. Mako only managed to register the roaring sound of an animal right before she saw three of her opponents fly across the room like dolls, connecting against the wall with a cracking sound. The last enemy remaining was cut down from behind by a tall man that suddenly appeared from the darkened tunnel.  

"Come let's go." The stranger told her and before she could react he grabbed hold of her wrist and pulled. 

Still reeling from the whole incident, Mako followed without thinking, reacting to the firm command in his voice. She managed to catch the look of the animal, _a bull? _stomping and reeling in the crowded space, right before she was pulled into the darkness. The sound of the roaring animal and shouts and curses followed them.

Once the surprise had worn off however, Mako started to resume control of her wits. Precaution kicked in and the realization came that she might just have jumped from the frying pan into the fire. She tried to pull out of the man's grasp and was both surprised and annoyed when she realized that she wasn't able to manage that. 

"Unhand me." She ordered her "rescuer". 

When he didn't comply she planted her feet in. It was not exactly the smartest movement she could have made. 

The sudden halt she made had him nearly pulling her arms out of its socket. Her eyes crossed with pain. She stumbled and would have fallen straight into the sewer water if he hadn't reacted quickly and moved. The lightning speed surprised her. One moment she was falling and another she hit against a muscular chest. The impact was not really that great, but she found her breath catching in her throat and the very air around them seemed to sizzle with energy. 

Frightened for the first time since her arrival to Saturn, Mako reached out with her free hand, which was still holding the sword and pointed the edge against the man's neck. 

"Thank you for your assistance, but you can unhand me now." She told him softly. It was dark in the tunnel and she had could barely make out the other man's features. 

"I've heard about a lot of ways a person can thank another for saving her life. But pointing a weapon against the rescuer is the first." The dark timbre of his voice carried across the darkness like velvet. He had an accent but she could not make it out from where, there was however no mistaking the glitter in his eyes that he did not appreciate having a weapon pointed at him.

Well that was just fine with her because she didn't appreciate being manhandled either. And most importantly she disliked having someone interfering in her business. 

"I never asked for your help." Mako pointed out levelly. She increased the pressure on her weapon this time enough to draw slight blood. 

Even in the dim light, Mako could see his eyes narrow. She felt his hand tighten on hers and then all of a sudden he started chuckling. "You sure are one of a kind, Lita." He let go of her and stepped back.

"Thank you." Mako told him glibly and fought against the impulse of massaging her wrist. "Now if you don't mind why don't…." Her voice trailed off as the name registered in her head and she whipped her head upwards, sending the braid that flowed down her back to whip against her shoulder with enough force to make it sting. "What did you just call me?"

"Well I'm glad at least that it was your real name that you gave me." Her rescuer told her and there was a solemnity in his voice and a meaning in his tone that she could not quite grasp.

"Who are you?" Mako asked warily and backed away from him slowly. Lita wasn't a name she had used often even as she grew up. It was in fact her second nickname and those who knew of it had stopped using it a long time ago. She looked at the man, tall nearly a head taller than her, with broad shoulders and long hair. It had been wavy and dark with reddish tint, she recalled right before he had pulled her out of that room. Yet for the life of her she couldn't recall who he was. It was certainly not Freddy that much she was sure. 

The man sighed. "Look its obvious that you're having trouble remembering meand while I would like to fill in the blanks for you, now is not the time." The man told her. He nodded down the tunnel they had just come from. Shouts were coming from there along with splashing sounds that told them, pursuers were coming. 

"Why don't you fill me in now and let me decide. How do I know you're not in league with them and trying to lure me into another trap the moment my guard was down." Mako told him with a guarded expression. 

The sound of pursuers was growing nearer. 

Her "rescuer" blew out his breath in frustration. "Damn you sure have turned into a suspicious person. What happened to the friendly warm hearted girl I got to know?"

"Oh I don't know, it depends on when I was "supposed"," She made a quotation sign with her free hand. "to have known you. Obviously I must have been a kid who didn't know better since you claim I befriended you." 

"Obviously." The man snorted. "If I knew she would have turned into a brat like you I would never have bothered to rescue you back there." __

"Well for your opinion, I never asked to be rescued. I was handling myself perfectly fine." Mako told him heatedly and took a step closer. She did have in mind enough to lower the sword in her hand so that the point was facing down. She rather felt like knocking him with her fist than skewering him. What an arrogant assuming bastard! 

"Yeah getting yourself killed by your own recklessness."

"I wasn't being reckless. I had the situation perfectly under control."

He snickered. "Yes I could see that being sliced up an all." He gave her arm a pointed look. 

Mako looked down and realized that she was bleeding steadily from a cut on her left upper arm. With the knowledge of the wound came also the pain and she grimaced slightly.

"You're going to have to have that taken cared of." 

She was about to tell him to mind his own business when the sound of someone calling out orders caught her ears. Both of them tensed up at the same time. 

"Well they sure are persistent." He murmured. 

Mako growled under her breath and prepared to pull her sword out of the sheath when he halted her. 

"I have something better in mind." He told her. 

Mako watched him with cryptic eyes but decided to see what he had up his sleeve. The determination in his eyes told her it might get interesting. 

Her eyebrows nearly vanished into her hairline when he clasped his hands together and starting murmuring under his breath. The guy was _praying? _At a time like this? She felt like kicking him. 

The sound of pursuers came nearer and grumbling under her breath in annoyance at men in general, Mako prepared to shift into battle position when she felt the tingling in her body that told her magic was being used. Whipping her head towards the source, she let out an audible gasp of surprise as she saw the tall man suddenly starting to glow in the darkness. There was a globe of red light coming from his clasped hands and the light seemed to spread throughout out his body giving off a reddish aura. 

"What – " Her words were cut off when suddenly a red light shot out from his clasped hands and hit the water. The surface started to bubble like it was boiling. Smoke rose and something or she should say some things were starting to rise. Mako stared in fascination when two girls started to emerge from the surface. Both blonde and tiny with flowing long hair, they looked like each other's mirror except that one had green-blue eyes and the other had blue-green eyes. They didn't wear a stitch on their body either except for the tiaras with the large agate stone in the center_._

"Gemini, I have some problems coming up. Would you please take care of them?" Mako's rescuer asked. 

"No problem, love. Sis and I will deal with them, won't we?" The one to the right with blue-green eyes winked. 

"Anything for you, Nephrite." The sister in question tossed a golden mane over one shoulder and cast a smoldering look at their summoner. 

Nephrite cleared his throat. It was too dark to determine but Mako could nearly swear that he was blushing. 

"Try not to let your sense of a practical joke get carried away and be careful, okay? These are criminals of the worst kind. You've got about ten minutes." Nephrite warned them before taking hold of Mako's hand and pulling her off. 

After one futile tug and an annoyed glance at the tall man, Mako looked back at the two strange women and caught them waving at her with a combination of cheerfulness and glee. She wasn't even surprised when she realized that a building headache was starting to appear in her right temple. The day kept getting stranger and stranger. All that she needed now was Mina appearing suddenly and hauling her sorry ass back to Moon.

"Where are we going?" Mako asked and quickened her steps so she was running alongside him instead of behind him. 

Nephrite was silent for a long moment. It was almost as if he was debating over something and he couldn't decide. 

"I'm taking you to see my friends. Seeming as our goals are the same, I think we can be of help to each other." He told her. 

Mako frowned as she wondered who these friends were. The man's reluctant feelings did nothing to assure her. Add to the fact that she was getting a strange tingling feeling at the back of her head when he mentioned his friends, it was enough to make any girl wary. She knew him, that much she was sure now. Yet she still couldn't remember when or where she had met him. 

Still, she decided, there wasn't much to it now. The only door in to the Death Tournaments and reaching Bear had just been slammed in her face. Maybe Nephrite and his friends might just be what she needed. The possibility that this might be a trap didn't get past her either. If this was a trap she was willing to chance it. She already knew when she decided to go after Bear that she might have to face Death himself. All she could hope while keeping her eyes open and senses alert, that maybe this was Celes' way of blessing her on her quest for justice.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

He had known they might not be happy about it and he was right too. The five people gathered in the semi large antechamber at the _Black__Rose__Inn_, were studying each other with mistrust on their faces, well in Lita's and Zoisite's cases glaring would be more fitting descriptions. Those two had not hit it off from the very beginning Zoisite had intercepted them on their way upstairs to meet the prince and had tried to lay his hands on her to stop her from entering. Seeing his friend nearly have his fingers broken had made Nephrite realize just how lucky he had been earlier. Despite having seen her in action earlier against the thugs, her movements had still surprised her. Before Usagi, Haruka and Michiru, he hadn't even known women could be such good fighters and in Lita's case he would even wager that she could rival Haruka who was clearly the best of the three. 

"Well I'm still waiting for your answer." Endymion replied with quiet authority from his seat. He was the only one of the five sitting down. 

Lita folded her arms across her chest in a gesture that told Nephrite it was a pure sign of rebellion but he still could not help the way his eyes lingered there. Catching himself, he quickly slid his eyes away and mentally berated himself. This was neither the time nor the place for fantasies, they were here on business but he was acting like Jade and Zoi. 

From the other side of the room, he caught Kunzite's disapproving look. The man's face didn't alter but he still managed to give off an air of clear disapproval that had Nephrite squirming inside. He quickly focused on the situation at hand and the contest of will that was taking place between his liege and the woman he had rescued. 

"My reasons are my own. All you need to know is that I want to enter the Tournament, which is why I'm here." 

"And you think we can help you?" Endymion asked with an arched look. 

"That was the impression your man over there gave me." She indicated with a nod towards Nephrite. He didn't know why but hearing her refer him as his man instead of his name sent a sliver of anger through him. 

"Then I'm sorry to have to inform you that you were mistaken. We are nowhere near getting closer to the Tournaments than you are, miss." Endymion informed her. 

Her full lips compressed in a line that clearly spoke of her disappointment. "In that case, there's no need for me to waste more time here. Good day."

Without a word she whirled on her heels and strode for the exit. Usagi who was standing close to the door moved as if to stop her but one look from the taller woman  had her scurrying back and hiding in her usual place in the shadow.__

The exchange was brief but had Nephrite frowning nonetheless. There was something there, something about those two that kept nagging at him. But now was not the time to delve further into it turning to the man in command he said, "Dare, she could be of help to us." He used the name Endymion had adopted for this recon mission. 

In response Endymion looked at him silently, his dark blue eyes piercing and sharp. When he spoke however his tone was neutral. "Unless she starts being more informative to us I'm not about to trust her with anything."

"Lita's not going to betray us." 

The conviction in his voice had the prince's dark brows arching in surprise and amusement. "Oh and what makes you so sure about that? Did the stars reveal it to you or are you going by some other instincts?" 

Nephrite felt himself flush with anger a the implied tone but he kept his tongue. 

The dark haired Terran prince let out a weary sigh. "Forgive me that was uncalled for. The fruitless result of our work here is taking its toll on me but I should not have taken out my frustration on you."

Not trusting himself to speak, Nephrite nodded his head in acceptance of the apology. They might be friends but in many situations Endymion's position as his prince and future liege made it only possible for Nephrite to act like anything other than as his subject. It was not through any faults of the younger man's because as a nobleman, Endymion was in fact the person who flaunted his title the least, even Kunzite sometimes did it albeit unconsciously. Nevertheless whatever Endymion's attitude, Nephrite was brought up to know his place. From the moment the king had saved him from being drowned in the river Eldan as a babe, his fate had been sealed. 

Realizing that his thoughts were wandering towards his childhood, Nephrite focused on something else.  His dark eyes rested upon the trio who were hunched over the table discussing in soft tones. Joining them there he could see that they were studying a crude map of the city.  It was the only map Zoisite had managed to scour from the extensive Royal Library of the city. Information about the places outside of Earth's boundaries were limited to say the least. The map being fifty years old was in fact the newest they could find, but alas the information on it was outdated, especially after the civil war. That had been the first obstacle they had encountered. 

The next had been the wall of silence. Despite being a city in chaos, there was surprisingly a lot of well established order of power here; and not from the local militia as one would have expected but from elsewhere: a mysterious group of people called the Warlords of Saturn. They were a group of men and women who had seized the opportunity the chaos had given and carved themselves a path to the top. To reach Bear they would have to go through these warlords first and it was proving to be harder as each day passed. The warlords ruled through fear, tyranny and ruthlessness and any questions concerning them or their people were usually met by silence. And while they kept of digging for information, their situation became more and more precarious. Nephrite didn't even want to think what would happen if the warlords found out the heir to the Terran throne was here. He and his friends might be strong but even they would not be able cut through an entire army made of ruthless killers and mercenaries. 

It would have been much better if they had stuck to the first plan which was letting him, Jadeite and Zoisite do the recon mission. Even with camouflage, Endymion and especially Kunzite had a way of attracting attention, attention that they could have done well without. He was just grateful Haruka and Michiru hadn't come along, though they had protested loudly enough. Soldiers or not this place was not suited for women. It was too bad Usagi couldn't have stayed behind but strangely enough the prince had insisted she be present. The lot of them hadn't been able to protest too loudly without revealing Usagi's secret. 

At the thought about the girl, Nephrite looked around the room and frowned. Where did she go? He hadn't noticed when she left. 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Mako." The voice that called out in a loud whisper was not unfamiliar and despite her best effort to ignore it she found it held her like a noose. 

"Your secret is safe." She told her follower without turning around. Her voice sounded hollow even to her ears but it was nothing compared to the pain in her chest. The pain that she had felt from the very moment she came face to face with her childhood friend after so many years of separation. 

There was a brief silence and then hand came and touched her tentatively on the arm. "I know." Usagi told her softly. "I… I'm sorry."

"You have nothing to apologize to me for. You are free to do whatever you want. After all I'm hardly in any position to tell you otherwise."

There was a hiss as Usagi drew in her breath sharply. "That is not true!"

Mako turned on her heels and faced her childhood friend. She didn't bother to hide the anger in her eyes. "Isn't it? Your actions for the past couple of years and today, certainly say otherwise. Friends don't do that to friends."

Usagi swallowed visible her blue eyes pooling with tears. Mako felt the familiar stirring of protectiveness come surfacing inside her at the sight but she ruthlessly stomped it down. She knew better than to offer comfort, especially since it was unwelcome. "I didn't have a choice. I can't risk having them find out the truth about my identity."

"So to ensure your own happiness, you decided to deny the existence of your friends?"

There was a long moment of silence and just when Mako was about to leave, Usagi spoke again and she was surprised at the maturity in her friends eyes. 

"I'm not asking nor do I believe that you will forget your anger to me that easily but I am telling you the truth when I say that no matter what, I never stopped caring about you or the others nor have I forgotten about you. You four were my first true friends. In my heart you will always be the sisters I never had. And… I'm sorry for letting you down, Mako."

Through the burning haze of anger, Mako felt the first stab of pain in the chest area. Unlike the stinging pain she had received earlier during her fight with Grim's men, this was a bitter sweet feeling that formed a lump in her throat. The lump and the pain grew stronger the further she looked at blonde girl dressed like a boy. A girl whom she has once called her closest friend and whom today had acted and pretended that as if she didn't know her. Unable to endure the feelings anymore, Mako turned and walked away. 

She was immensely relieved when Usagi did not follow and also slightly disappointed. If she was to be honest with herself she did not know what she would have done if the other woman had decided to follow her. Would she have hugged her and sought the comfort and compassion that the friend she remembered always was so generous with? Or would she have punched her instead and inflicted some of the pain that she had given Mako? She didn't know and she was not ready yet to find that out. She had enough on her mind at the moment. 

With her mind and emotions still in turmoil, Mako never had the chance prepare for the attack. One moment she was rounding a corner and the next shadows came alive. She managed to dodge the first two attacks and then everything went black and she felt herself falling.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Usagi watched Mako disappear and sighing with regret she turned and headed back to the inn. She would have liked to follow her friend but she had been gone long enough as it was. Any longer and the others might send out the search party for her. 

This trip to Saturn had certainly brought on more surprises than she had anticipated. The situation on the planet itself and the horrible conditions the people were living in had come as a shock to her. While she had not paid much attention at class, she still remembered that Luna had told her Saturn had been one of the most advanced societies on the solar system, their culture nearly rivaling Venus. Guilt had gnawed at her like an infested wound especially considering the citizens less than warm thoughts of Moon and its part in the Civil war and their situation now. Usagi felt like she should have done something, though she didn't know what. Was her mother even aware of how bad the situation was? Surely she would not just sit by and do nothing if she saw this? There were so many questions she wanted to ask and all led back to the ending of self-imposed exile for the answer. The resolution did not sit very well with her. Not only because she knew she would miss being close to Endymion and the presence of her new friends but because she feared the reactions of her old friends.

Mako's reaction shouldn't have come as a surprise to her but it still did. Maybe it was because she didn't expect it. Of her four friends, Mako had always been the most supportive and nurturing, something like an older sister that she could turn to when she had problems with. Usagi had always figured Mako would be the one who would support her decision the most. 

The question was if Mako felt like this then what about the others? Recalling Rei's fiery temper and Usagi couldn't help to wince. Mako might have the lightning temper but it was nothing like Rei's when hers erupted. She would not spare Usagi especially when it came to hurting the feelings of one of their other friends. Rei's fierce loyalty could be a double edged weapon sometimes. 

"Hey squirt. What's with the face?" A familiar voice asked. 

Looking up Usagi watched Zoisite come emerging out of the inn. 

"Nothing. Must be something I ate." Usagi told him with a weak smile. 

He nodded his head in understanding. "Yeah good hygiene isn't exactly something one is likely to find here."

"Where are you heading off to?" Usagi asked, changing the subject.

Zoisite shrugged. "Hunting information what else? Jade just got back so I'm relieving him. Besides I don't want to be in the same room with him and Calvin." Calvin was the name Kunzite used while they stayed here.

Usagi looked up towards the windows on the second floor even though she wasn't able to see anything. "You think Calvin will ever forget about the incident and let Jade off the hook?" She asked with worry tinting her voice. 

Zoisite put his hands into the pockets of his pants. "Don't know, doesn't matter though since Jade is most unlikely to forget or forgive himself."

It was true, ever since that attack at the Anniversary party, Jadeite had changed. While he still acted carefree off duty, there was certain coldness in him, a calculated look that he wore when in battle that he didn't have before. It was as if he was a completely different person and it scared Usagi. She wanted the old Jade back, the fun loving prankster and charmer that she first befriended on Earth. 

"Go get some sleep, you look wrecked." Zoisite told her and tussled her hair. She gave him a glare. "Stop doing that I'm not a kid anymore." 

In reply Zoisite snorted. "Forget it, you're youngest. You'll always be the kid. Trust me I'm an expert."

"No wonder you welcomed me so easily to the group then." Usagi muttered under her breath. 

"What was that?" 

"N… nothing. I'll just head on upstairs. See you later." Without another word, Usagi quickly rushed in to the inn. She did not hear the chuckling sound the young general made behind her before he headed off to do his business. 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

From the deep shadows of one of the alleyways, a pair of dark eyes watched the smaller one of the pair run in to one of the more respectable establishments of Saturn even as the other one headed down the street away from where she was hidden. She did not pay much attention to him. 

Time passed but the observer held herself still and soon the same slight form was silhouetted against one of the windows along with a taller and larger form. Her eyes flickered towards the other window where the shoulder of another large frame was easily distinguished and a small smile danced across the woman's stony features. 

Satisfied with the result of her work, the woman held herself still for another few moments. Truth to tell dressed in tight-fitting black clothes and with hair as dark as midnight, hiding in an alleyway that was as dark as the deepest pitch of the night and of whom no sane person would enter unless he or she was looking for trouble, the woman was quite safe from detection; at least as safe as anyone can be in a dangerous place like Saturn. Yet the woman did not dare to take any chances. Despite her recent rise in position, there were enough fools lurking around that would be more than happy to cut her throat for the clothes she wore to bother finding out her identity first. Hunger, cold and poverty did that to a person. And the Saturnian's have been living long enough in this hell not to give a damn about much aside from surviving a day at a time.

Finally when the woman was sure enough time had passed, she moved slowly backwards and sunk deeper in to the alleyway. She moved swiftly and with a deadly silent grace, her lithe body moving fluidly as she climbed the walls and jumped between roofs, strode (one never walked slowly on the streets of Saturn, not unless one wanted trouble to come to haunt you) along the filthy streets and ran underneath the pungent labyrinth sewers. 

As she moved across the city, she also dispatched a half a dozen stalkers following her steps. Two were only fools thinking a mere slip of a girl was an easy target to rob; she let them sleep off their headache in the gutter. The other four had more evil intention and their blood was still mingling with the green/brown water of sewer water where she left them. She doubted there would be much left of them to identify once their bodies were found. Even as she left, beggars were fighting and pulling at the corpses' clothes and soon she knew the dogs, rats and crows would take care of the rest. 

The killing did not bother her. It was either them or her and she was a survivor after all. She knew her opponents would have not shown her any more mercy than she did. Actually the items in her pocket just proved that.

She reached her destination and was forced to go through the same kind of tedious procedure like any other visitor. Her lips turned into a grim small line as she walked down the narrow hallway towards the heart of the place where her boss was waiting. She fully knew that the procedure was not necessary and had most probably been an insistence on Lynx part. The man saw her as a threat to his position and would do anything to undermine her in the eyes of others. 

Never mind that, she would deal with him afterwards. 

The long hallway, which acted both as a headquarter and messhall for those following Criton, was quite empty, not that Criton had a lot of men in his employment compared to the other warlords to begin with. 

Criton was sitting by the table near the hearth which was lit at the moment. Wood cost a fortune on Saturn but it was a cost Criton was willing to pay since he liked it warm. As it was now, the place felt like the inside of a furnace, more than a few of the men were wearing large patches of soaked sweat on their clothes. None though complained, on Saturn the voice of your leader was the voice of God, and one did not complain because the outcome was far too horrible. 

"Ah, Raven. You're back. Found anything interesting?" Criton greeted, his sharp dark eyes taking in the bloodstains on her clothes. 

"Trouble would be more like it." Lynx observed from the corner, casting a disdainful look at her before he resumed polishing his weapons. 

"Nothing I couldn't handle." Raven replied glibly and fished out the marks she had in her pocket and threw them on the table in front of Criton. One mark rolled down to the floor, landing not far from Lynx's boot. The glaive imprinted on top of the brass was quite visible. The mark used to be worth something, at least before the Civil War today they were worthless and only members of a certain gang carried these.

"Druscilla seems a bit too interested in our business." Raven pointed out.

"Provided that the men you killed really were sent from her." Criton mused. 

Raven shrugged. "They were not being very cooperative in giving out information."

"A dead body can hardly speak." Lynx said with a dry voice.

"Not necessarily." Raven could not help to shoot back if only to rile the man. Her reply had the effect she wanted, the lean faced man turned dark. 

It was a known among the gang that Lynx hated necromancy, the dark art that had somehow sprung up from the dead in recent years. Not that anybody knew who practiced it but desecrated corpses with the ritual carving had been sighted here and there before the animals took care of them. No human would touch those bodies fearing the curse.

Criton only smiled. Unlike many people he did not believe in the dark arts and was well aware that Raven only said it to annoy his second-in-command. The silent war between those two amused him a great deal.

"So what have you got for me then?"

Raven's dark eyes lit satisfaction. "Something that I'm sure would validate an audience with the Chief himself."

One of Criton's brow arched up and from the corner of her eyes, Raven could even see that Lynx had stopped his polishing as his whole attention was caught. Knowing that she had caught both of theirs undivided attention, Raven told them all she saw in brief words. 

"You are sure about this?" Criton asked, fingering his chin absently as he pierced her with his dark eyes. The force of the look was enough to give her shivers but she was careful of not letting it show.  

"Yes." 

She could see from the slight smile dancing on his lips that he was satisfied but she was not sure whether it was due to her simple answer or the calm look in her eyes when she replied him. He was by far one of the most dangerous men she had ever met. It was sometimes a fine line between giving a good impression and appearing too dangerous in his eyes. Raven did not know what it was that she had done now but she was more than a bit relieved when she heard him say, "Lynx, find Rat and ask him if he can arrange for us to meet Bear tonight. Tell him there will be three of us."

Raven could not hold back the thrill she felt. Finally she was getting somewhere. 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Despite the darkness, the chill and the danger, Zoisite walked through the streets like he had all the time in the world. It was because he found so many things interesting, everything that he laid eyes on. Saturn fascinated him like one of his inventions. The whole history behind the fall of a once powerful planet was like a puzzle of how the dark side of humans worked. 

  Greed, jealousy and revenge, strong human emotions, combined they not only destroyed a family but brought the downfall on of the third most powerful nation in this galaxy. 

Ces'Nedr an old family name and one that has been connected to the rulers of the Saturn throne for the past six hundred years. It was by far the longest any family had ever held the rulership of a planet in this solar system, even Mars known for their ancient traditions and long history could only claim the same ruling family for half a millenium. And all that history and proud heritage ended because of one man: Torunor Ces'Nedr. 

Unlike his precedessors, Toruror was only interested in one thing; his own pleasure. As long as they were fulfilled whether his subjects were prosperous or suffered did not matter to him. The selfishness and the combined ruthlessness did nothing to appeal him to his subjects; neither the poor nor the rich. The later might have been a bit surprising if it weren't for the fact that he had cuckolded so many of his subjects' wives and mistresses. If there was one thing women could not stand was the fact of being discarded by another woman and if there was one thing men could not stand was having his woman stolen from him and made the laughing stock of the court. And so the scheming started and plans were made. 

The famine, Zoisite mused, was just the perfect opportunity needed for the different fractions to make their move. By the time the armies of the Alliance, led by King Ares of Mars and King Tristan of Uranus arrived on Saturn, Torunor, as well as his son, the Crown Prince and his family had already been killed and a full fledged Civil War was breaking out between two fractions who claimed equal rights to the throne: Zelthar, Torunor's nephew and Rezun Torunor's cousin. It wouldn't really surprise Zoisite if it later came out that either or both had been involved in the massacre of the Crown Prince and his family. With so much inbreeding, all sorts of illnesses could be found there, even illness of the mind. 

Zoisite shook his head sadly. With rulers such as Ces'Nedrs it was no wonder all kind of filth gathered here and prospered. The whole planet itself was like the fabled Sodd Gomorra, the city of sin itself.

And now they were not only here, they were trying to nestle themselves into its very core, the Death Tournaments.

Zoisite shook his head, chuckling mentally. He wondered if they had not all gone mad. 

All of a sudden his moves changed from gentle amusement to serious alertness. He sensed the danger and acted accordingly. His hand immediately darted to the sword resting against his lean hip even as he mentally prepared to summon up crystals if he had to. He kept walking as if nothing had happened but his eyes quickly scanned his surroundings. 

The place was not anywhere near different from all the others he had passed the past few days. At least it didn't appear to be outwardly. The only thing was that there was a strange eeriness in the entire place. A coldness that made a grave seemed warm. 

The hair at the back of his neck rose when he realized the danger was coming from everywhere as he stared and met the eyes of street inhabitants. Black eyes completely without whiteness, stared lifelessly at him everywhere he looked. Men, women and children all stared back at him with those dead looks.

Pretending to blend in was out of the question now. By the looks of things his cover seemed to have been blown already. 

Quickly calculating the odds, Zoisite decided it would be wiser to just run and deal with the consequences later rather than to stay and find out what was to come. 

As if sensing his change of mood, the zombie like humans started to move, those closest attacking him with whatever they had, be it weapon, sticks, stones or just hands. They were really no match for him, most of them weren't even knowledgeable in the arts of fighting. Something in the way they moved and acted told him that they were dead but he still felt a sickening feeling in the pit of his stomach when he had no choice but to use his sword against a kid no older than eight. The fact that it was either the child with a foot long butcher knife in his hand or him did nothing to comfort him. 

The good thing was he was small and quick on his feet, the only one he had met who could match him in speed was Jadeite. He was nearing the end of the street and what looked like his escape when suddenly a voice started chanting. While he could not understand anything, Zoisite could actually feel his blood run cold as he heard the strange words being uttered in that cold, guttural language. 

He swore when he realized that it wasn't just his blood that was running cold, his limbs were actually slowing down. Even as his mind screamed at them to move it was as if his body wasn't able to comply. He could feel himself backing away in his mind, slowly retreating until he felt like he was watching himself in a third person's point of view. 

The pavement, the cobbled street where stones were missing came nearer and nearer as his body slipped and he began to fall. The pain as he hit the hard surface was dully noted. Having being tackled to the ground plenty of times during training he knew the pain should be sharper, but somehow because he was sensing things distantly the pain seemed to have become shielded from him as well. 

The world shifted and he was rolled over. He stared up at the group of people with dead eyes gazing at him and he felt dread crawling up his body like a spider. The voice continued to chant in the background. 

From the corner of his eyes, he saw darkness edge closer, slowly covering him like a blanket of spiderweb. He didn't feel anything when the former pedestrians started to tie him up. He couldn't feel anything anymore. 

* * *

AN: Well here's update for those of you who are still following this story. I'm really sorry it took me so long to get this out but I haven't been feeling very inspired lately especially with this story. I still like it though and I would still like to continue writing it but unfortunately it won't be one of my priorities. 

For those of you wondering about Mako's out of character behavior especially with Usagi more will be explained in the next chapter. 

As always my special thanks to two great writers charliechaplin2 and K.Wyse whom without their help I would never have been able to finish this chapter at all. And a special thank you to Mandy who also helped by hounding me to update. =) And last but certainly not least to you, for taking the time reading my story.  

// Fenix


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